God why must the Thomas Jane version keep popping up when I mention The Punisher. This actually annoys me, being a comic book geek and proud of it, to hear that the Thomas Jane version is better than Punisher War Zone. Whoa, rewind that shit up. I heard someone say that when they reviewed Punisher War Zone, they said that because Thomas Jane brought sympathy to the role and created a Punisher that everyone can feel sorry for. I don't remember the Punisher I grew up reading being cute and fucking cuddly, unless you count a 50 year old ugly Italian guy covered in blood, a knife in one hand and a dead criminal in the other. That's right, that's the Punisher. He isn't cute, cuddly or sympathetic. He's a man who lost his family and the last bit of his sanity, or he saw how corrupted the law system is and believes in absolute justice. It's debatable on the mind set of Frank Castle, but that's beside the point. Frank Castle is an Italian guy who served three terms in Vietnam, became an army drill instructor. He was a devout family man, had a beautiful wife, a daughter and a son. One day they go for a picnic in Central Park and by accident, witness a mob execution. The mob members not wanting witness' proceed to open fire on them. Whether you call it fate, luck, or how twisted Garth Ennis is, Frank awakens with minor wounds. His wife dead, his son missing pieces of his head and his daughter slowly dying in his arms from a gun shot wound to the stomach. When the police can't do anything due to the mob buying their way out of being prosecuted, the first thing Frank does is go home and his old war weapons and hunts down every single one of those involved in the shooting. Thus the Punisher is born.
The Punisher is NOT a 30 year old former FBI personnel, who goes for a family reunion/retirement party where his ENTIRE family is wiped out. His dad, mom, aunt, uncles, ect. No no no no no, that's called Hollywood bullshit. He didn't sit in an apartment for a week, drinking(in the comics Frank doesn't drink because he's too busy and he needs to remain alert at all times) listening to Broken by Seether. No that is not the Punisher, that's called Hollywood trying to get a larger base to see the movie. Especially women. The minute that movie came out, women where lining up outside comic book stores to buy issues of The Punisher, but quickly put the books down as soon as they saw the real Punisher. A 50 year old war vet, ugly as hell, covered in scars and ready to kill. This is one of the biggest reasons why I prefer Marvel over DC, DC always makes their characters poster models, while Marvel bases their characters in realism. . . somewhat, they are fictional characters. Wolverine for one, in the comcis Wolverine is 5'1, hairy as hell, friggen muscular and ready to go at any moment. He does NOT look like Hugh Jackman; but I digress.
Another thing the Punisher does not do, is manipulate his opponents . He doesn't set up the wife and the best friend and force the guy to kill them. Fuck that, the Punisher gets all fucking medieval. He finds out where they live, takes a few uzi's, .45's, and a shot gun; suits up and sets out. Being a former marine, he assess' the situation on site and comes up with the best plan. Infiltrates and executes. He gets shit done in absolute.
Oh, and Frank will never attempt suicide unless he's killed an innocent child. As soon as Frank avenged his family, he didn't go back home and start drinking and hold a gun up to his chin. No, he went home put on his outfit and set out, as in his own words: "To make the wolrd sane again." That's The Punisher, a hard as nails, ugly ex marine who was pushed to the edge. Not a pretty boy who tortures people with a Popsicle. Hell no! He would actually use the blow torch on the guy then put one in his head after he finished telling Frank exactly what he needed to know.
Punisher War Zone captured that, they copied the store straight out of the comics. The origin, the character and the action. Everything, right down to his assistant Mirco-Chip. Alot of critics have been going on about the gore level in the movie, to which I once again say: read the fucking comic book! This isn't Batman where a Beretta puts a small hole in your head. No, the Punisher comics implement the true power of a gun. A head shot tears your head to friggen pieces. To the people that prefer the Thomas Jane version, fine just don't complain about Punisher War Zone when you have never read an issue of the comic before in your life. Marvel stepped in made the movie exactly like the comic, and I hope they make a sequel because Ray Stevenson was the perfect choice as Frank Castle. Keep on shining Ray!
Punisher 2004 gets .5 ludicrous gun battle sequences out of 5.
Punisher War Zone gets 4 amazing head shots and one rocket launcher out of 5.
If you can't swallow that, then sit down and read an issue of the comic before you start bitching about why the Thomas Jane version is better when all it is is epic Hollywood bullshit.
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