Punisher: Welcome Back To the Big Screen, Frank

Thomas Jane as Frank Castle/Punisher from the 2004 film The Punisher

Hello everybody! I'm Ryan Howitzer and you're in The Line of Fire! Today I'm posting about one of my absolute favorite characters in all of comics. If you hadn't already guessed from the title, we're talking about Frank Castle aka The Punisher. For those of you unfamiliar with Punisher, he was a Marine involved in the Special Forces. When he retired from the military, he got married and started a family. One day during a picnic, Frank and his family witness a killing performed by the Maggia crime syndicate. His family is killed, but he survived the attack and declared a one man war on crime. As I said in my Daredevil post yesterday, Disney/Marvel Studios recently reacquired the film rights to Punisher. As of yet, they have not put a Punisher film into production, but with his popularity and status as a cultural icon (thanks to his iconic skull shirt) I'm sure one will be put into production soon. This is not Frank's first outing on the big screen, though. There have actually been three previous Punisher films. The first one, The Punisher, was released in 1989 and starred none other than Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle.

Notice the distinct lack of a skull on Dolph's shirt 

 The movie was more of a generic 80's gritty cop movie than a Punisher flick. In fact, Lundgren never wore the skull shirt in the movie. The second movie, also called The Punisher, was released in 2004. this is the best film in the Punisher's film history. It starred Thomas Jane as Frank Castle. It was a good film despite some flaws and some character issues with Frank (his family's murder wasn't a random act of violence, Frank being an alcoholic), but that couldn't save the movie from being a box office flop. This was largely due to the fact that by 2004 the R rated blockbuster was all but dead. Another film titled Punisher: War Zone was released in 2008. It sucked. It REALLY sucked. So how can Marvel Studios enhance the good things from the 2004 film and avoid the mistakes of War Zone? As usual in these editorials, I have a list.



1. Make a serious R rated movie

The Punisher is the grittiest and most grounded character in all of comics. His movie needs to be almost entirely devoid of humor. It also needs to have a very serious tone and a mature plot. the action needs to be down and dirty. No flash, no CGI. Also, blood and gore need to be seen in the movie. If they decide to go with Punisher's biggest enemy, Jigsaw, They need some seriously nasty practical effects.

Punisher villain Jigsaw

 This movie needs to be a film about crime and punishment.  It needs all the grit and grime and gore of a very serious R rated film. Punisher cannot and should not be toned down to PG-13.





2. Bring back Thomas Jane.

Thomas Jane's death stare

Thomas Jane was the perfect Punisher. He looked right. He talked right. He even walked right. He's very good at being intimidating in the quiet kinda way. He had that look in his eye of a man who had nothing to lose and would pull out all the stops to kill criminals. He's perfect for the role. I'm yet to see another actor as qualified as him.


3. Script by Garth Ennis or Greg Rucka

The two best writers in Punisher history are most definitely Greg Rucka and Garth Ennis. Both of them would bring a gritty, unique story to the big screen. Both of them have written for more than just comics and i think it wouldn't be a huge leap for either of them to write the screen play for a Punisher movie. I think both of them would be very enthusiastic about the project and would put in their very best work.

4. Tie in with Daredevil

Punisher and Daredevil don't get along very well

   Punisher and Daredevil have a very long history in comics. Daredevil sees Punisher as a thug while Punisher sees Daredevil as too weak to deal with the disease of crime. the two characters contrast each other brilliantly. Since they pretty much share the same rogues gallery, it would be very easy to see a movie featuring the two of them taking down the Maggia syndicate or even The Hand. A Daredevil/Punisher crossover film would be epic. It would also be a good examination of the long debate over lethal vs. non-lethal justice in comics. I see no way that htis film would be a bad thing.







If Marvel Studios will go gritty for just one film, they'll give us the best Punisher movie we've ever had. Until next time, this is Ryan Howitzer telling you to keep your head down because you're in The Line of Fire!