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129 reviews in total

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30 out of 39 people found the following review useful:
GREAT FILM THANKS TO THE ACTORS CHOSEN, 6 May 2002
Author: Big Movie Fan from England

The Punisher was one of the better Marvel films adapted from a comic-thanks mainly to the casting.

Dolph Lungdren was an excellent choice as The Punisher and I cannot imagine anyone else being able to play it as well as he did. His facial expressions were so convincing throughout the movie;you really could believe that he was Frank Castle, a man whose family had been butchered. It was probably one of Dolph's best roles since playing He-Man in Masters of the Universe. The Punisher is a dangerous and pessimistic character and Dolph played it great.

Louis Gossett Jr. played Jake Berkowitz who had been chasing The Punisher for years and the lovely Nancy Everhard played his sidekick.

Jeroen Krabbe played crime boss Gianni Franco and he too did a brilliant job. He wasn't the stereotypical gangster. He made Gianni Franco into an intriguing character.

The casting for this film was brilliant so all that was needed after that was lots of action. And lots of action is exactly what we got. It was very vicious at times and I found myself flinching at times but it was great action.

I do wish there had been a sequel to this film.

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24 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
An exciting action-packed thriller, 24 May 2003

Author: David krasnow (stargirlrk@yahoo.com) from Ann Arbor, MI

This film was pretty good. Frank Castle is The Punisher, a former police officer whose family was murdered by mobsters and years later, he comes back and wages a one-man war against crime. Although thought dead, he slowly kills off leading mobsters and criminals, one by one, in the name of "street justice". This movie had good music, and Louis Gosset Jr. played his role well as a police chief who was a friend of Castle. This movie had a decent story and exciting well-filmed gunbattles, but there were some bad things too. It relied more on pure action than on acting, for there was little talking in the whole film, just gunfire. It was somewhat fake to the point where it no longer seemed like a film (more like a video game) where a single man kills dozens of mobsters and is only hit by a single bullet in the whole film (in the shoulder!!!). But besides the bad things, this was pretty exciting and I would recommend it to all who enjoy action films. Feel free to email me with any questions or comments.

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31 out of 43 people found the following review useful:
USA, 30 September 2004

Author: HandsomeMax from United States

Ah It was 1989,and the Punisher never made it to US theaters.Its a shame too.Cause this is one hell of an action movie.

I know it is not the most faithful adaptation.But in casting and action its great.And thats where its strength lies.

Dolph Lundgren is frank Castle out to avenge the violent murders of his family.He is so good at it that he has tagged 100+ murders of the Franco crime family.However a new threat comes from the emerging Yakuza.In the end the Punisher is forced to join forces with the thugs he was killing to stop the yakuza.

The action here is lean and Very mean.It is pure Punisher-style.Fist-fights.Knife fights.Gun Fights.40 Ninjas getting cut down with machine-gun fire.Extremely violent mode is on here.

Acting-wise.Dolph is great as Frank.He was clearly the best choice at the time.He gives the right sense of quiet intensity at the right moments.

Louis Gosset Jr is Frank's Guilt ridden ex-partner.The scenes between the 2 are good.Gosset steals a few scenes as well.

Jerrone Krabbe is a good bad guy as Johnny franco the crime boss who partners with Frank to save his son.Class act.

Kim Myori as the Lady Yakuza commands the screen when she is on.She comes off very psycho-like.

Barry Otto is good as the Punisher's Drunken stoolie.

Now this is how the Punisher 04 should have been.Here there is no cat and mouse Bs that watered it down .Its simple.The trigger is pulled.The guilty are punished.This has the essence of the comics.

Its a shame Dolph never became the big star he should have been.

8/10

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18 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
One of the Better, 21 February 2004

Author: John Wilkes Booth from Sandgate

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Today, we are inundated with comic-book inspired films, but in 1989 Punisher was one of the better adaptations, right up there with the Superman series(minus the forth film).

Like the lackluster, Punisher, starring Thomas Jane, this film has a dark yet balanced view of villainy and plays up the innocence of children that can so easily become corrupted. The viciousness of the two mafia leaders at each other's throat with the vigilante, Punisher wanting both to suffer for their evil deeds, that so often go unpunished for the lack of a better word.

As odd as it might sound, this is Dolph Lundgren's best performance despite his appearance as Ivan Drago. In the Punisher he actually speaks and shows some expression. As the PUNISHER--Castle, he is a wounded hero that does horrific things to avenge the death of his family, but he puts the care of innocents above himself that will save him in the end.

Lou Gossett, Jr plays a Police detective that suspects that he knows who the mysterious Punisher is. He hunts him down as to find his old friend and end the bloodshed. This is to no avail as the Yakuza resorts to kidnapping their rival mob's children as to claim the city as their undisputed territory. Gossett and Lundgren are complimented by the presence of Dutch actor, Joeurn Krabbe, if you can remember the Living Daylights and yes, Deuce Bigelow: European Gigilo. He needed the money, I guess? I hope.

The Punisher is a violent monster of a movie that was a lot better than I expected and I was glad to have seen it before the coming remake wipes away the memory of this effort that deserves its due attention. It is well shot, the editing is spotty in places, but it is consistent enough to survive the rigors of this review. NOT AN ESPECIALLY TOP NOTCH DRAMA WITH INFLEXION AND CHARACTER CONFLICTS, BUT ENJOYABLE IF ONE FORGETS ALL THAT HOT AIR BULLSH'T.

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21 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
A good adaptation, 26 December 2003

Author: Gino Slavko Purin Subiria (gpurin) from Lima, Perú

I really liked this film, it´s true to the comic, and in some parts is better. For example in the comic Frank Castel has a truck full of weapons (most of them hi tech weapons) but were he gets the cash to pays for them. It´s a better adaptation than most flicks from those years (captain America for example) and it´s full with a lot of action and blood, its like a predecesor for Kill Bill. I give the movie a 7 out of 10.

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17 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
A much better movie then the big budget remake, 22 May 2005

Author: black_wolf_1970 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Lungren as The Punisher play the part very well, a man who lost every thing except he need for revenge but in the process of getting his revenge he losses what made him Frank. When the Japnesse mafia move in and kidnap the children of the local crime family he is forced to face the fact that in his pursuit of revenge he has placed the lives of the ones he swore to protect in danger. The action was well done the fight scenes are well done, he is not invincible and receives several wounds for a super hero that is refreshing, granted I think Kill Bill took a bit from this in the fact the body guard of the crime queen is a teenage female a bit on the crazy side. Over all I think this is a much better film then the remake at least the actors act, and not just say lines, the drunk is great.

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19 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Better Than People Give Credit For, 26 May 2003
Author: Kenneth Hitt (kenny@fusionaddict.net) from Sylvester, Georgia

No, this is not CITIZEN KANE. But it is an entertaining film that did make a somewhat unbelievable Marvel "hero" to celluloid.

Lundgren plays Frank Castle, a former NYPD detective (originally a military special ops expert in the comic) who loses his family to a mob hit. This pushes his already unstable personality over the edge, and he becomes a one-man judge, jury, and executioner. The VERY underrated Louis Gossett Jr. plays his former partner, determined to find him and keep him out of the gas chamber.

This movie is quite a decent action film. It actually delves quite deeply into the characters' motivations, their histories, their personalities. I agree with earlier comments that, out of the lot of action stars, Lundgren does bring at least some dramatic chops to the role. I really couldn't imagine Schwarzenegger playing this part, though Stallone or Willis might have been better choices.

The action sequences are done quite well for a low-budget film. The director, Mark Goldblatt, served as editor on films such as TERMINATOR 1 & 2, the underrated PREDATOR 2, TRUE LIES, STARSHIP TROOPERS, ARMAGEDDON, and PEARL HARBOR, so he definitely has knowledge of how to properly compose an action sequence. He also served as Paul Verhoeven's 2nd Unit Director on the original ROBOCOP.

The movie is rather tough to find, and though it strays away a bit from the source material, it does manage to flesh out a rather one-dimensional character.

A new version of THE PUNISHER is now being prepped, starring DREAMCATCHER's Thomas Jane as Frank Castle and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh.

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13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
The Gulity will be punished, 8 January 2007

Author: bluesman-20 from Canada

Dolph Lundgren is the Punisher in my mind after seeing this movie. Yeah the filming was a little cheap and they eliminated the skull on his shirt but Lundgren captured Frank Castle's descent into madness perfectly. The film opens up five years after the death of Frank Castle and his family as we see in flashbacks this pushed Castle over the edge and into a Vendetta for revenge. Top marks go to Lou Gosset Jr as he Carries his end f the movie beautifully Gossett And Lundgren are the movie. Some of the other actors fall Flat and are not really convincing Only Jerome Krabbe Carries his role off with any hint of class or style. Some of the bad acting in this movie is it's downfall but it captures the style and spirit of the comic Something the remake strives to do but not quite. This movie is a Fun shut your brain off for 92 minutes and sit back and enjoy action classic

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22 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
Quite possibly Dolph Lundgren's best film ever, 23 November 2001
Author: davideo-2 from United Kingdom

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Adapted from a little known comic book of the same name,The Punisher is a ceaselessly exciting thrill-ride with action like you've never seen before.Many consider Dolph the most dramatically talented out the action hero bunch (Willis,Seagal,Van Damme,Schwarzenegger et al)and many may be put off here by what could be interpreted as a blank,stationary performance.In fact,what this is is a frank,startling portrayal of a man unable to emit mercy to his opponents simply because he is emotionally unable to.Like the best,it also has a sensible,compact running time,running in at just under an hour and a half,making it all the more irristible to the action conesseur.****

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11 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
One of the better Marvel movies., 4 October 2005

Author: jgeerling from Groningen, Netherlands

Grosly undervalued, the Punisher is 15 years later still one of the better Marvel Movies. Of course the movie has a weak plot, and sure it never really surprises it's audience, but it captures the spirit of the comic far better than many other Marvel-movies.

After the murder of his family, Frank Castle goes on a rampage against organized crime. He starts a war against criminals everywhere. The movie shows the Punisher for what he is, once a broken man, now a killer with a shade of humanity far hidden inside.

As a movie, the Punisher is average, there are far better movies in the action-genre. But as a comic-adaptation it is at the very least true to the comic.

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