X-Men and Spider-Man franchises aside, Marvel
Comics films haven’t exactly lived up to the company name.

Daredevil‘s hellacious reliance upon A-list talent had
diehard fans wishing for the blindness of that film’s protagonist,
while The Hulk transformed comicdom’s mightiest behemoth
into arthouse cinema’s latest tormented cliche. After butchering
two marquee franchises, Marvel prudently gambled a B-list superhero
to line its coffers until Spider-Man 2 captures the global
box office. Meet Frank Castle, better known as The Punisher.

A legendary special forces veteran and undercover federal agent,
Frank (Thomas Jane) retires from law enforcement to spend more time
with his worried family. Unbeknownst to Frank, the son of Tampa,
Fla., crime boss Howard Saint (John Travolta) was killed in his
final mission.

Seeking retribution, Saint orders the massacre of Frank and his
entire family during their vacation in Puerto Rico.

Frank miraculously survives the executions, returning to Tampa
five months later and discovering that authorities have made no
arrests for his family’s slaughter.

Realizing that Saint’s wealth has rendered him untouchable by
conventional law enforcement, Frank wages a one-man war of
punishment.

As longtime fans may remember, Frank previously shot up the
silver screen in the dreadful 1989 Dolph Lundgren vehicle that
bastardized the Punisher mythos for a Rambo audience.

First-time director Jonathan Hensleigh learned from past
mistakes and drew heavily upon Garth Ennis’ seminal writing in the
comic series.

Consequently, The Punisher stands alongside the iconic
’70s vigilante films that inspired the comic book while
distinguishing itself as a fun contemporary action romp. Other than
bloodthirsty businessmen, The Punisher contends with a trio of
misfits located in his rundown apartment complex. His interactions
with the rotund Mr. Bumpo (John Pinette), heavily-pierced Spacker
Dave (Ben Foster) and fragile Joan (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) are
testaments to the bizarre genius of Garth Ennis.

The tenants carry their own emotional burdens, finding
camaraderie with Frank in their misery as outcasts.

If explored further, this could have severely anted up the
cheese factor, but luckily the sappy stuff is kept to a minimum
between the fullthrottle action sequences.The Punisher’s lack of
superpowers is excused by an arsenal of firearms and explosives
that would make Charleton Heston jealous.

Like the Batman films, The Punisher depends on his lethal
toys for survival, and he utilizes them in spectacular fashion to
dispatch the various assassins sent by Saint. Particularly
noteworthy is The Punisher’s life-and-death wrestling match with a
massive hitman known only as The Russian (Kevin Nash).

The fight demolishes Frank’s cruddy apartment building as he
hurls everything, including a grenade hidden under the kitchen
sink, at The Russian. Hensleigh checks phony CGI at the door and
supplies a gloriously outrageous slugfest that embraces comic
violence to the utmost.

Frank’s assault on Saint’s empire is chock-full of visceral
action, and The Punisher definitely earns its R rating.
Frank shoots and stabs through a small army of faceless goons until
he is finally alone with the man who ruined his life. Howard
Saint’s demise is the money-shot of the entire film and sure to
elicit squeals of rapture from Marvelites everywhere. Without a
doubt, the real tour-de-force this weekend is the Bride’s
vengeance. But Kill Bill is so last year.

It’s 2004, and vengeance is passe–punishment is the phrase that
pays.