Fans of Frank Castle recently celebrated especially the “Punisher” series on Netflix (now on Disney+). Often underrated, however, is the film adaptation with Thomas Jane in the role, which once even landed on the Index.
The year 2023 is a good one for all fans of gruff revenge action as well as especially of Marvel’s number 1 avenger, Frank Castle. Just under two months ago, for example, one of the bloodiest Marvel adaptations of all time landed on the streaming platform with “Punisher: War Zone” – and then Jon Bernthal also announced a little later that it won’t be the end for him after “Marvel’s The Punisher”. Since then, his fans have been longing for his big comeback in “Daredevil: Born Again. “
However, the author of this article would like to take this opportunity to point out another “Punisher” adaptation. It’s not the bloodiest, newest or most popular – but it’s often criminally underrated: “The Punisher” from 2004. For all fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who have always wondered how the comic forged ahead into the cinema even before “Iron Man” and Co. it’s so definitely worth taking a look at Disney+, where the film adaptation with Thomas Jane (as well as many other pre-MCU Marvel films) is available:
But it’s best that you don’t research in advance how well the film will be received by the general public. Then it could well be that you change your mind and invest the two hours in something else. The FILMSTARTS review once gave it a below-average rating of 2 out of 5 stars, and it’s no different on the biggest review aggregation sites: At MetaCritic, “The Punisher” currently stands at only 33 out of 100 points, and at Rotten Tomatoes only 29 percent of all reviews are positive. Much to the incomprehension of FILMSTARTS editor Daniel Fabian:
If it goes after him, the film of Jonathan Hensleigh (“The Ice Road”) even belongs to the pre-MCU highlights of the comic forge. Even if one has to put into perspective which claim Hensleigh was pursuing with his film: Because his Castle adventure is not too complex, technically not revolutionary and also offers nothing narratively, what there was not already too much. But it doesn’t need all that to still entertain splendidly after two decades: “The Punisher” is still a wonderfully undemanding, entertaining fun that works both as a hard-hitting revenge thriller and as an exaggerated super or anti-adventure.
This probably best “Punisher” movie adaptation so far works as an over-the-top spectacle that doesn’t take itself too seriously as well as a stone-cold vigilante thriller, making it a guilty pleasure that’s always fun to watch – and thus even leaves the cult first film adaptation “The Punisher” (1984) with Dolph Lundgren easily behind. Certainly also because, unlike MCU entries, it can and should stand completely on its own, without having to bother with any organic and often forced connections to other stories. Yes, Jonathan Hensleigh had plenty of freedom – which worked out in other ways as well:
The uncut version of “The Punisher” once even landed on the index and was not even allowed to be freely advertised and sold in Germany for so long. In the meantime, however, the film can be streamed completely uncut at Disney+.
