Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Punisher (2004)'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The antihero is always an experimental proposition in storytelling, simply because it is difficult to find the right balance to make the character worth your while. If the character is too dark and too angry, few can identify with him or her and they drive the audience away. If the character is too far on the light side if you will, the story and the gravitas that the antihero was supposed to bring forth...is simply lost. 

In my travels there have only been a handful of antihero stories that manage to pull it off perfectly, and one of my all-time favorites ended up coming forth from the early Marvel Cinematic Universe when Thomas Jane became the iconic and dark character Frank Castle...a man also known as The Punisher. 

Frank Castle is finally free of a world of crime as he says goodbye to his career as an FBI agent after working one final and ugly case, one so extreme his death was faked to protect his identity. But this last case also saw the death of crime boss Howard Saint's son and in his anguish,  he spends plenty of money to find out that Castle was involved in his son's death, and is still alive. As Frank prepares to enjoy retirement and has a party with his family...Saint's goons strike, killing everyone that Frank has ever loved and leaving him for dead. But Frank has managed to survive the assault and with his life in tatters, and nothing left to lose Frank will have his revenge and make sure that Howard Saint and everyone around him will suffer a great and grand punishment for all of their crimes. 

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​So, let's get this out in the open...I have no idea why this particular film got such a bad rap when it first came out, because it was lambasted by critics and well...abandoned by fans and I find that unfortunate because I freaking loved this motion picture. It was so gritty, so dark and man, Thomas Jane absolutely nailed the part of Frank Castle/The Punisher. He played the role with a gravity and pain that the character was missing from its 1989 iteration and that performance alone sold the film for me. 

But my love for this film goes beyond just Thomas' performance, John Travolta is equally as impressive as the villainous Howard Saint, bringing a zest and zeal to the role that allows for the right amount of over the top to balance out the sheer darkness of Frank Castle. Beyond that, the story is solid, you feel for Frank the entire film. It's brutal to watch his family fall before your eyes, and his journey into darkness is equally as harrowing, making for an amazing story and quite frankly one of the finest Marvel films out there.

If anything, part of me wonders now if this motion picture is what inspired Marvel to return the character to his dark roots on Netflix, since some of the bleakness found here made its way there, and if it did, well I consider that to be a good thing when all is said and done, since this character shines when he is battling that powerful conflict within. If by chance you haven't seen this particular film, check it out, and if you haven't watched it in years, revisit it. It's one that I think has aged well and it definitely gave the Punisher the justice the character deserves. 

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