Sunday Funnies: Justice with a Vengence

Written by Jim Squires

Sunday, 03 February 2008 09:58

I love The Punisher. There, I said it. I know that might make me a little creepy, but there's just something I can't help but dig about a guy waging a one man war on the underbelly of society. That's why as a Punisher fan, I was so disgusted with that Thomas Jane/John Travolta atrocity. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad film, it just wasn't The Punisher.

Jane's Frank Castle still seemed to have some redeeming qualities, but what makes The Punisher great is that he's an amoral unforgiving animal. He's the well-armed embodiment of kharmic retribution. To put it another way -- if you've fucked up, you're getting fucked up. 'Nuff said. The producers of the original Punisher film both knew and embraced this, and as a result gave us one of the best comic book movies you've never heard of.

Starring Dolph Lundgren as The Punisher and Louis Gossett Jr. as the cop on his trail, The Punisher (1989) literally has everything. Drunken hobo stoolie? Check. Triple digit death count? Check. Dolph Lundgren's partially visible ball bag in the final shot? Check. In the first 20 minutes alone he blows up a house, hangs a guy, gets caught in the middle of a mafia/yakuza war on the docks, and rides a zip cord made from a rope tied to a crossbow arrow that he shot through a guys chest. Let me repeat that for you -- in the first 20 minutes.

Also, he fights ninjas. In a funhouse. I'll give you a minute to digest that one.

I just can't find enough good things to say about this movie. As long as you know what you're getting yourself into (after all, this is one of those Van Damme/Seagal era action flicks), there's no way it can miss. Just check out the trailer, and tell me you aren't already in the car and on your way to the nearest DVD bargain bin.

Comments (6) Add Comment

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written by bdwilcox, February 04, 2008

"Dolph Lundgrenâ€™s partially visible ball bag in the final shot?"

Kevin, you hear that?

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written by bdwilcox, February 04, 2008

The Punisher also seems to use superhuman hair-gel. Seriously, the only thing missing from this movie is Christopher Walken.

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written by MC, February 04, 2008

Louis Gossett Jr.... the Samuel L. Jackson the 1980's.

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written by MC, February 04, 2008

OF the 1980's rather

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written by Five Movies You Should Have On, February 13, 2008

[...] Jim says: This movie has fucking everything. He fights ninjas… in a funhouse. You can read all of my thoughts on this film here, but to sum it up, The Punisher is the best example of over-the-top too much fun not to watch late 80’s/early 90’s action. [...]

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written by TheBBPS.com (Bits, Bytes, Pixe, September 24, 2008

[...] Punisher. Hell — I’ve even gone so far as to defend the 80’s film adaptation on this very blog. And yet video games and comic books have a spotty track record at best. For every gem like [...]