The Punisher [4K UHD]

Great movie

This was a surprise. I expected some lame mutt of a movie, something for toddlers. The R rating called my attention, and then there was John Travolta and Rebecca Romijn, and was in.I found some illogical things, some stupid plot ommissions and other stuff. Then I went to the special features and listened to the comments of director Jonathan Hensleigh. I learned how much could not be filmed due to budget constrains and how the movie had to be trimmed, deleting an important sub-plot.Well, he performed miracles with one third of the budget for an action movien and half the time to film it.He decided not to use CGI, because it looks artificial. For once, I found somebody with whom I agree totally. Mr. Hensleigh went "old school" with this movie, to the delight of the audience and realism of the action scenes.All the stunts were done in cold blood by skilled professionals, including Tom Jane who did most of his own. It shows. They are the real thing. Magnificent!This movie is entertainment at its best. Wisely, Mr. Hensleigh avoided excessive gore and some unnecessary violence. He could be criticized for this, but he is honest to recognize it and voices his professional opinion.All actors perform superbly and Ms. Laura Harring is perfect for her part. And, oh, so beautiful! Ms. Stamos shows a side of her that we did not know and was lovely and very human.And Tom Jane should be placed up there among the best action heroes, together with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vin Diesel, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, and The Rock. Tom is superb. What a devotion to the cause! And such a grueling training schedule!All said, this movie deserves not only a sequence but three or four times the budget, several months of shooting, and free hand for Mr. Hensleigh to do as he pleases.

Adds all the scenes I never saw at the theater, that explain the intervening storyline so well that you wonder WHY it wasn't shown at the theater with those included. Truly worth buying, and it arrived well-packed, undamaged, with the dye side pristine and unscratched.

Came exactly as described

In the world of super-heroes and evil villains, the Punisher rests squarely in that gray area between the two. He does exhibit a sense of justice akin to that of a hero, but he bears no remorse with regards to killing, as his wraith is only suffered by those who truly deserve, those who the law cannot, or will not touch. Revenge, justice, and retribution are his motivations, and he is judge, jury, and executioner. The Punisher (2004), directed and co-written by Jonathan Hensleigh, who also wrote Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) and Jumanji (1995), stars Thomas Jane, who bears a remarkable resemblance to actor Christopher (Highlander) Lambert, and who I've seen before, but couldn't place until I remembered him from the film Deep Blue Sea (1999), and John Travolta. Also appearing are Laura Herring, Rebecca Romjin-Stamos (does she still carry the Stamos since their divorce?) and Roy Scheider.The film, based on a Marvel comic book of the same name, tells the story of FBI agent Frank Castle (Jane), an FBI agent, who, during a sting operation that results in the death of a suspect, finds himself at odds with a powerful crime family, lead by Howard Saint (Travolta), as, it turns out, the dead suspect was his son. In retaliation for his son's death, Saint orders a hit on Castle and his entire family, but Castle manages to survive, and, seeing that nothing has been done to apprehend those responsible for the deaths of his family, he decides to take the law into his own hands (something Doug Llewelyn from The People's Court always advised against) and bring his own form of justice to those who sought revenge against him. Do two wrongs make a right? No, but they sure make for a fun movie...This actually wasn't the first screen adaptation of this comic character. There was a film, of the same name, released way back in 1989, which starred Dolph Lundgren, which was panned by both critics and fans. It wasn't that great, but I did enjoy it somewhat, and didn't think it was as bad as everyone thought. This latest incarnation is certainly better, benefiting from a larger budget, better writing, and a bit more star power, but still has minor flaws. I'd read many a comic book back in my youth, and The Punisher was one of them. At that time, he probably had three of four different titles, being a very popular character, and Marvel Comics had a real penchant for milking any bit of popularity for all they could, often exhausting the potential way too soon in their search for the almighty dollar. I haven't read comics in a long time, and given the nature of comic characters and their constant evolution, I was unsure how the story would be played out. I was unfamiliar with Thomas Jane, but I thought he did a wonderful job, really embodying the essence of the character I knew well way back when. The look, the feel, the attitudes, marked a vast improvement over the last film incarnation of the character. I was a bit apprehensive about John Travolta being cast as the lead bad guy, as of late, when playing similar antagonistic roles, he often ventured into the realm of hamminess, but his performance was really grounded here and lacked the over the top element inherent in some of his past roles, thankfully. The action elements in the film were done very well, bordering between the realistic and unbelievable nicely, and I really enjoyed the use of all different kinds of weaponry from hand guns, machine guns, anti-personnel mines, knives, to the bow and arrow. Jane's character showed adeptness and a proficiency one would expect. Some elements and scenes seemed a bit off...the plot point where Castle basically lets everyone know he didn't die in the massacre seemed illogical, as I would think the advantage of your enemies thinking you were dead would far outweigh whatever could be gained by them knowing you're alive, especially if you were planning to go after them. Also, the complete lack of any police involvement, even after Castle began his war on Howard Saint and his organization seemed unrealistic. And I would have expected Castle to find a secluded place to hole up, one where he could come and go as he pleased, and not a run-down apartment building with a few neighbors, including the character played by Romjin-Stamos. The purpose was to sort of create a surrogate family for Castle, but it just seemed strange that he would choose the location he did from which to wage his war. Finally, I have to mention the scene with the Russian assassin played by pro-wrestler Kevin Nash. I thought the fight scene was very exciting and fun to watch, but why did the Russian show up in a red and white striped shirt, looking like a huge, lumpy candy cane? It really disrupted the dark and gritty feel built up in the movie, as he reminded me of a lacky henchman from the 60's Batman television series. All in all, I thought most of the movie worked well, with a few plot areas that didn't, but the positive points out-weighed the negatives, in my opinion, and I enjoyed the movie as a whole, right up until it's satisfying conclusion.The widescreen print here looks beautiful, and there's a good helping of useful and informative special features including featurettes on the stunts within the film, origins of the The Punisher character from his first appearance in a Spider-Man comic back in the 70's, a behind the scenes look at the making of the film, an interview influential cover artist for The Punisher comic book, a music video for a song within the film by the group Drowning Pool, a trailer for The Punisher video game (but not a trailer for the film itself?!), a commentary track by the director, two deleted scenes and a mini-comic.Cookieman108

*** SPOILER ALERT ***Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) becomes the Punisher to revenge the death of his family.After seemingly to finally be free from his past by staging his deathFrank is found out to actually be alive.Howard Saint (John Travolta) is the head of the mob family.Howard wants Frank to pay for the death of his son.Howard asks his wife Livia Saint(Laura Harring) what revenge she wantsLivia replies from under a Joan Collins (Dynasty-styled) huge brimmed black hat"The whole family!"Thus the chase is on for Frank and his entire family is gunned down.There is a timed chase scene of Frank trying to get to his wife and son but...The story then turns Frank into a one man army out to punish the Saint Family.This movie has all the emotions of action, heartbreak, winning, losing and camp.Franks neighbors are so well cast and perfect in making Frank a new man.For under $4 brand new this was well worth the price.Also see Thomas Jane in Deep Blue Sea.A great shark adventure that will have you jumping from your seat.John Travolta rocks in From Paris with Love.He plays an hysterically funny American Agent in Paristearing up the place with coke, girls and guns. A real hoot!

If you love comics and or Marvel movies. You gotta see this movie. Plenty of action! Plus, the extended version adds some details compared to the theatrical release. Enjoy!