The Punisher 'laughably awful'

[Krug]

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=17355

There's another review on the site which says the same...

 

[SemperJase]

Anyone remember the 1989 version of "The Punisher" starring Dolph Lundgren (of Rocky IV fame)?

I can't figure out why they would have given this one a second go.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Raise your hand if you're not surprised.

*Smacks hand on ceiling*

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Was hoping against it...but...*raises hand*

 

[CrusaderX]

A Punisher movie should be a horror movie ala Friday the 13th or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But instead of having a bad guy killing teenagers left and right, you'd have the Punisher killing criminals left and right. He'd be a relentless unstoppable force ala Jason or Leatherface, and the typical teen horror movie audience would probably love it.

And keep him as an ex-Marine. And keep him in New York, not Florida.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

And keep him as an ex-Marine. And keep him in New York, not Florida.

That right there is what convinced me this was gonna suck when I first heard tidbits about the movie a year ago. It just smacked of studio interference and/or a writer who didn't "get" the character. I mean, the New York location, that's negotiable (I guess). But Frank HAS to be a Marine. That's key to the whole character. He doesn't approach stopping crime the way a cop or fed would - he approaches it the way a soldier would.

 

[Umbran]

I haven't seen the new movie, but I have $0.02 anyway....

The problem with the Punisher movies is very simple - the thing that made the original character interesting was that he was a normal (if somewhat psychotic) guy in a 4-color superhero universe. When you take away the contrasts (both in powers and in morals and ethics) between the Punisher and the heroes, you lose most of the purpose for the character's existance, dramatically speaking.

Thus, wihtout Spider Man or Captain America or the like in there, the Punisher is just a normal guy with guns in a normal world. There's already oodles of such movies out there, and the only reason for the movie is name-recognition to sell t-shirts with skulls on 'em.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I haven't seen the new movie, but I have $0.02 anyway....

The problem with the Punisher movies is very simple - the thing that made the original character interesting was that he was a normal (if somewhat psychotic) guy in a 4-color superhero universe. When you take away the contrasts (both in powers and in morals and ethics) between the Punisher and the heroes, you lose most of the purpose for the character's existance, dramatically speaking.

Thus, wihtout Spider Man or Captain America or the like in there, the Punisher is just a normal guy with guns in a normal world. There's already oodles of such movies out there, and the only reason for the movie is name-recognition to sell t-shirts with skulls on 'em.

That makes me think about crossover movies. But I guess its too early for a Spidey/X-Men movie.

 

[KenM]

Anyone remember the 1989 version of "The Punisher" starring Dolph Lundgren (of Rocky IV fame)?

Yes I remember it, it can't be worse then that version, can it? If it is then its worth seeing just to see how bad it is.

 

[CrusaderX]

But Frank HAS to be a Marine. That's key to the whole character. He doesn't approach stopping crime the way a cop or fed would - he approaches it the way a soldier would.

Exactly! That's an excellent summarization of his whole character right there - Frank Castle is at war.