The Punisher (2004)

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This month is “Dark Hero” month at Catching Up On Cinema

All month long, Kyle and Trevor will be reviewing superhero movies of the antihero or dark hero variety!

This week, Trevor and Kyle review Jonathan Hensleigh's, The Punisher (2004)!

The 2nd live-action adaptation of the Marvel comics character, and the first to be produced during the 2000's boom of the superhero genre, The Punisher (2004) stars Thomas Jane as the titular Punisher.

Written and directed by first time director Jonathan Hensleigh, The Punisher is a sleepy and overplotted revenge film with a strong cast and some decent performances, but is severely lacking in momentum and energy.

Not especially colorful, nor especially thrilling, The Punisher often feels cheap, with much of the proceedings feeling muted and lacking a consistent tone or energy.

The film's one major saving grace comes in form of a single, 5 minute long action sequence involving former pro-wrestler Kevin Nash as “The Russian”, squaring off against Jane's Punisher in a comedic and creatively staged dust up.

A middling rendition of one of the most live-action adapted characters in Marvel's roster, The Punisher was par for the course among the Daredevils (2003) and Elektras (2005) of its day, however standards have changed, and unfortunately, despite Thomas Jane and Kevin Nash's best efforts, in 2024 The Punisher just doesn't hold up.

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