Okay, based on all of the positive ratings that I've seen so far, I am starting to think that Avi Arad paid a lot of people to give this film a high rank. And all of the B.S. about this being a film for true fans of the Punisher...I was reading the Punisher and Punisher War Journal when most of them were wetting their diapers. I have followed the Punisher since the first appearance of Jigsaw (whose transfer from the comic to the big screen made him seem tremendously stupid, weak, and unfashionable.)
This film sucked on multiple fronts. Its only saving graces were Ray Stevenson as the Punisher (who was the most perfectly cast person for the role,) Julie Benz as the damsel in distress (who was the only one in the film capable of pulling off a convincing accent,) Wayne Knight as Micro (an integral character from the Punisher comics that was left out of the other two films,) and the massive amounts of ridiculous violence that was doled out throughout the film.
Ironically, the film's biggest problem was that the violence that made it great also made it very dumb. Some scenes were hilarious (like when the Punisher pops a roof-jumper with a mini-missile,) but some scenes were wholly unbelievable and unbearable (like when the Punisher punches his fist through a guy's face.) Some of the violence was what I would expect from a Troma film like the Toxic Avenger, not from a Marvel comic book movie. It was ridiculous.
Another big problem from the film was the portrayal of the Punisher's first recurring nemesis,Jigsaw, along with his brother, Looney Bin Jim. They were also horribly miscast with Dominic West and Doug Hutchison, who made their characters pathetic caricatures with such over-the-top Italian accents that they practically crucified their own performances. The costume designers for the film only exacerbated the problem with positively dreadful clothing decisions for Jigsaw and Looney Bin Jim.
Most of the problems of the film can be laid squarely on the shoulders of Avi Arad, who obviously doesn't believe that the Punisher can make a truly successful transition to film, so allowed this crap to bear the brand. However, director Lexi Alexander and the costume designers should have to shoulder a lot of the burden. Alexander needs to learn that acrobatics don't equal action, and that bad accents, bad outfits, bad wigs, badly stereotyped caricatures, and impressively horrific amounts of bad-guy goons do not make for a good action flick.
It's amazing that Julie Benz was able to shine as brightly as she did in such a confined and minimized role. Stevenson only gets credit for looking and sounding like the Punisher from the comics. His performance, however, wasn't near the caliber that Thomas Jane gave us in the second attempt to bring Frank Castle to the screen.
This film sucked on multiple fronts. Its only saving graces were Ray Stevenson as the Punisher (who was the most perfectly cast person for the role,) Julie Benz as the damsel in distress (who was the only one in the film capable of pulling off a convincing accent,) Wayne Knight as Micro (an integral character from the Punisher comics that was left out of the other two films,) and the massive amounts of ridiculous violence that was doled out throughout the film.
Ironically, the film's biggest problem was that the violence that made it great also made it very dumb. Some scenes were hilarious (like when the Punisher pops a roof-jumper with a mini-missile,) but some scenes were wholly unbelievable and unbearable (like when the Punisher punches his fist through a guy's face.) Some of the violence was what I would expect from a Troma film like the Toxic Avenger, not from a Marvel comic book movie. It was ridiculous.
Another big problem from the film was the portrayal of the Punisher's first recurring nemesis,Jigsaw, along with his brother, Looney Bin Jim. They were also horribly miscast with Dominic West and Doug Hutchison, who made their characters pathetic caricatures with such over-the-top Italian accents that they practically crucified their own performances. The costume designers for the film only exacerbated the problem with positively dreadful clothing decisions for Jigsaw and Looney Bin Jim.
Most of the problems of the film can be laid squarely on the shoulders of Avi Arad, who obviously doesn't believe that the Punisher can make a truly successful transition to film, so allowed this crap to bear the brand. However, director Lexi Alexander and the costume designers should have to shoulder a lot of the burden. Alexander needs to learn that acrobatics don't equal action, and that bad accents, bad outfits, bad wigs, badly stereotyped caricatures, and impressively horrific amounts of bad-guy goons do not make for a good action flick.
It's amazing that Julie Benz was able to shine as brightly as she did in such a confined and minimized role. Stevenson only gets credit for looking and sounding like the Punisher from the comics. His performance, however, wasn't near the caliber that Thomas Jane gave us in the second attempt to bring Frank Castle to the screen.