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The Punisher (2004 film)

May 09, 2023

The Punisher is a 2004 American vigilante action film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, written by Hensleigh and Michael France. It stars Thomas Jane as the antihero Frank Castle and John Travolta as Howard Saint, a crime boss who orders the death of Castle's entire family.

The Punisher
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJonathan Hensleigh
Written by
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyConrad W. Hall
Edited by
  • Steven Kemper
  • Jeff Gullo
Music byCarlo Siliotto
Production
companies
Distributed byLions Gate Films[1]
Release date
  • April 16, 2004 (2004-04-16)
Running time
123 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$33 million[3]
Box office$54.7 million[3]

The film's story and plot were mainly based on two Punisher comic book stories: the 1994 miniseries The Punisher: Year One by writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and the 2000-01 miniseries Welcome Back, Frank by writer Garth Ennis, though some scenes were derived from other Punisher stories, such as Marvel Preview Presents: The Punisher #2, Marvel Super Action Featuring: The Punisher #1, The Punisher War Zone, and The Punisher War Journal. The Punisher was shot on location in Tampa, Florida and environs in mid to late 2003. It was distributed by Lions Gate Films in North America, although Artisan Entertainment, which released a 1989 film adaptation of the same name on DVD, financed and co-distributed the film with eventual Artisan owner Lionsgate, while Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International distributed the film in non-North American territories.[4] Screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh agreed to helm the film during its development stage despite a dispute with Marvel Studios, marking his directorial debut.

The film was released on April 16, 2004, by Lions Gate Films, grossing $13 million in the United States over its opening weekend, and reached a total gross of $54 million against a budget of $33 million. Reviews were generally negative. Marvel Comics and Lionsgate began development on a sequel, The Punisher 2, which instead became the 2008 reboot Punisher: War Zone after Jane and Hensleigh left the project due to creative differences. This was the final film produced by Artisan Entertainment for theatrical distribution.

Plot

An FBI bust of smuggling operation in Tampa results in the deaths of Bobby Saint, the son of mafia boss Howard Saint, and Otto Krieg, an arms dealer. However, Krieg's death was faked, and he is revealed to be undercover FBI agent Frank Castle on his final mission before retirement. Enraged at the death of his son, Saint orders his men to learn everything they can about Krieg, and acquires access by bribing corrupt federal law enforcement officers for his federal service history. He orders Castle killed at a family reunion in Puerto Rico, though Saint's wife Livia insists that Castle's family be killed as well. At the reunion, Saint's men, including Saint's best friend Quentin Glass, and Bobby's identical twin John, kill Castle's entire family. Though Frank Castle Sr. takes down some of the attackers, John then shoots Castle, leaving him for dead. However, Castle survives and is nursed back to health by a local fisherman.

With the police and FBI unwilling to pursue the killers due to Saint's power and influence, Castle moves into an abandoned apartment occupied by three outcasts—Joan, Bumpo, and Spacker Dave—and begins his mission to bring the Saints down. With the help of information provided by Mickey Duka, Saint's less malevolent henchman, Castle studies the Saint family and learns their every move, during which he discovers Glass to be a closeted homosexual. He openly attacks Saint's business and sabotages his partnership with his Cuban partners.

Saint discovers Castle is alive and sends assassins to kill him. The first, Harry Heck, ambushes Castle on a bridge, but is killed when Castle fires a ballistic knife into his throat. The second, a Russian behemoth, nearly beats Castle to death in his own apartment, but Castle manages to kill him as well. The tenants treat Castle's wounds and hide him in his hidden elevator as Saint's men arrive for him. When Dave and Bumpo refuse to reveal Castle's hideout, Glass tortures Dave by plucking each of his piercings with pliers. They leave one of their men to intercept Castle, but Castle kills him after they leave.

With Mickey's help, Castle poses as an anonymous blackmailer and arranges for Glass to be at certain places while planting Livia's car in the same location, and ultimately placing one of Livia's earrings in Glass's bed. When Saint finds the earrings, he stabs Glass to death and, despite her protest that Glass was gay, accuses Livia of having an affair with his best friend. He throws Livia off an overpass onto a railroad track, where she is run over by a train.

With Saint despondent, Castle assaults Saint's club and kills every member of his mob, including his remaining son John. Saint escapes the building, albeit wounded. Castle pursues him and shoots him in a duel. As Saint lies dying, Castle reveals his schemes that led Saint to kill his friend and wife. He ties Saint to a car and sends it into the club's parking lot, which is rigged with explosives. Saint perishes in the ensuing explosion.

Castle returns home and prepares to kill himself with his mission fulfilled, but changes his mind after seeing a vision of his wife, instead deciding to continue to fight crime. He leaves some of Saint's money as a farewell gift to the tenants for protecting him. He is then seen standing alone on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at sunset, where, in a voice-over, he vows to kill all killers, rapists, psychopaths, sadists, and anyone else who harms innocent people in any way in his new identity, the Punisher.

Cast

Hensleigh and Arad have said in many interviews that Jane was the first and only actor to be asked to play the title role.[5] Arad had previously pursued Jane for other roles in Marvel Studios films.[6] He turned down the Punisher twice, as he did not see himself as a superhero actor.[5] Jane said, when asked the second time to play the Punisher, that he became interested when Arad sent Tim Bradstreet's artwork of the character. After learning more about the Punisher, he accepted. Jane went on to read as many Punisher comics he could find to understand the character, and became a fan of the Punisher in the process. Jane trained for six to seven months with the United States Navy SEALs and gained more than twenty pounds of muscle for the part.[7]

Production

I had to ask myself intellectual questions like, "To what extent do crimes against a person become so unconscionable, so heinous, that even a person who does not believe in vigilantism can resort to vigilantism in a more just way?" That was the equation for me. I told Marvel that I didn't just want to do a revenge story, that I wanted to do the mother of all revenge stories. I wanted to ramp everything up. I can't really go further without doing spoilers here. The underlying events that give rise to Frank Castle's vigilantism are not from the comic. I invented a lot of that. I made it a lot worse.
—Jonathan Hensleigh on The Punisher[8][9]

Marvel Studios began development for a new Punisher film as early as 1997.[10] In 2000, Marvel made a long-term agreement with Artisan Entertainment to turn 15 of their characters into films and TV shows, among them The Punisher with Gale Anne Hurd to produce.[11] The Punisher marked Marvel's first major independent release as an equity owner, whereby it contributes characters and creative support to lower-budget pics in exchange for a financial stake in the negative cost.[12] Screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh signed on in April 2002, and The Punisher also became his directing debut.[11] The story and plot were mainly based on two Punisher comic book stories, Welcome Back, Frank and The Punisher: Year One. Hensleigh explained he had to excise much of the influence from Welcome Back, Frank as it would have likely been a four-hour-long film.[13]

Before filming began, Hensleigh was not given the budget he wanted or needed from the studio, Hensleigh knew that most action pictures get a budget of around $64 million. He was only given $33 million, with only $15.5 million going towards the shooting budget and post-production for the film,[14] with only 52 days to shoot, which is half the time allocated for most action pictures. Most of Hensleigh's original script had to be edited and re-written many times due to budget issues. According to the DVD commentary, the first scene in the film would have been a battle set in Kuwait during the Gulf War, but they were unable to film this scene as a result of the budget cuts.

Principal photography for The Punisher began in July 2003[15] on location in Tampa, Florida. Filming finished October 14, 2003 after 52 days of filming.[16] The Florida location was first chosen at the insistence of screenwriter Michael France, who advised Marvel and Artisan that "it would be cheap to shoot [there]—that they'd get a lot more for their money than in New York or Chicago" as well as wanting to use "both sunny locations, and dark, industrial locations" in the screenplay.[17] For inspiration, Hensleigh and cinematographer Conrad W. Hall looked at dozens of action films from the 1960s and 1970s, such as the Dirty Harry series, The Getaway, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Godfather and Bonnie and Clyde.[18] In an interview, Hensleigh also stated the film pays homage to Mad Max and William Shakespeare's Othello, though while he was inspired by Othello, the characters were reversed for the film, making the Punisher the instigator of the jealousy which leads to Howard Saint murdering his best friend and wife.[19]

After shooting, Lionsgate (then known as Lions Gate Films) purchased Artisan. In an interview, Hensleigh said that even though the film is distributed under the Lionsgate imprint, they had nothing to do with the film. Lionsgate never gave a green light for the film to be made. The film was still under Artisan Entertainment.[14] During shooting of a fight scene, Jane legitimately stabbed Nash in the collarbone with a blunted butterfly knife after a stunt co-ordinator forgot to change the props. Nash did not break character and continued the scene and accepted cold beers from the crew as compensation.[20]

The character of Microchip was originally included in an earlier Michael France draft (along with the character Jigsaw),[21] but was excised from later drafts because of director Jonathan Hensleigh's distaste for him. Instead the character of Mickey Duka (who was heavily based upon the character Mickey Fondozzi)[citation needed] serves as an ally of Frank Castle. Regarding the exclusion of Microchip, Hensleigh had this to say:

There are a couple of years where I didn't want to go; Microchip, the battle van, all that stuff where it got really high-tech; we're not going there at all. I deemed that too complicated, too lacking of the spirit of the sort of urban vigilante. The Punisher doesn't just go around blowing people away; he uses guile and cunning just as much as he does weaponry and physical combat.[22]

Reception

Box office

The Punisher opened in 2,649 theaters on April 16, 2004, and grossed $13.8 million over its opening weekend, ranking at #2 at the box office, behind Kill Bill: Volume 2.[7][23] The film has a US gross of $33.8 million and an international gross of $20.9 million, giving it a worldwide total of $54.7 million.[3]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 29% based on reviews from 170 critics, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The website's critical consensus states: "A good cast fails to elevate this overly violent and by-the-numbers revenge flick."[24] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 33 based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[25] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of B+.[26]

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film two stars, stating, "The Punisher is so grim and cheerless, you wonder if even its hero gets any satisfaction from his accomplishments."[27] Joe Leydon of Variety describes the film as "depressingly rote and sometimes laughably silly". Leydon praises Jane for his "appropriate physicality and brooding gravitas" but criticizes Travolta, saying he does "nothing to inject fresh life into bland archetype".[28]

Some reviewers defended the film, stating that, compared to most comic book-based films, it is a well-done throwback to the old-school action films of the 1960s and 1970s.[29][30][31] Critic A. O. Scott stated, "But lightness is not among Hensleigh's gifts. Making his directorial debut after a successful run as a screenwriter and producer (on projects like Die Hard with a Vengeance, Jumanji, and The Rock) he has clearly conceived The Punisher as a throwback to the leathery, angry urban revenge movies of the 1970s."[32]

Drew McWeeny of Ain't It Cool News said of the style of the film that "The Punisher has more in common with the work of Don Siegel and John Frankenheimer than it does with the work of Michael Bay or Simon West. Which isn't to say that it's the equal of those classics, but at least Hensleigh's got the right idea. ... The Punisher is pulp, served up gritty and ugly and brutal. It's not jam-packed full of one-liners. What humor there is in the film is dark."[33]

Home media

The film was released via DVD on September 7, 2004 and sold nearly 1.8 million copies in its first five days[34] and netted $10.8 million in rentals its first week, making it number one in DVD sales that week.[35]

An extended cut DVD was released on November 21, 2006 with 17 minutes of additional footage, most of which revolves around the character Jimmy Weeks (Russell Andrews), and Castle realizing that it was his friend who had sold him out to Howard Saint. In retaliation, Castle forces Weeks to commit suicide. Features also include a black-and-white stop-motion animated scene, set in Kuwait, based on and partially done by artist Tim Bradstreet, and a Punisher comic book gallery. An extended version of "In Time" by Mark Collie also appears in the closing credits of the extended-cut DVD.[36] This version does not include the special features on the standard DVD release.

The Punisher was released via Blu-ray Disc on June 27, 2006, and only included the theatrical cut.[37]

Accolades

Mark Chadwick won "Best Fire Stunt" at the Taurus World Stunt Awards.[38] Several other crew members were nominated for work on the film: Donna Evans for Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman, Gary Hymes for Best Stunt Coordinator or 2nd Unit Director, and Keii Johnston and Dane Farwell for Best Work with a Vehicle.

The Punisher was also nominated for a Prism Award in the Wide Release Feature Film category.[39][40]

Music

Further information: The Punisher: The Album and The Punisher (2004 score)

The score to The Punisher was composed and conducted by Italian composer Carlo Siliotto. Director Jonathan Hensleigh wanted the music to be very emotional, and was aware of Siliotto's previous work which led to him being chosen. When scoring the film Siliotto saw Frank Castle as a tragic figure stating, "This man, Frank Castle, is somebody who has a slaughtered family. He comes through that slaughter, and becomes a punisher. But he's a sad man—he drinks, and has bad memories always coming to him. There's a lot in the film, and at times it is like a modern version of a classic tragedy—like Othello."[41][42]

Merchandise

Prior to release, a novelization was written by D.A. Stern and released in March 2004.[43] Jane reprised the role of Frank Castle in the 2005 video game The Punisher.

Cancelled sequel and reboot

Lions Gate Entertainment planned to produce a direct sequel titled The Punisher 2, with Avi Arad, chairman and CEO of Marvel Studios, stating that the second film would "become the fifth Marvel property to become a sequel."[44] Jonathan Hensleigh said that he was interested in working with Thomas Jane again for The Punisher 2.[45] Jane said that the villain for The Punisher 2 would be Jigsaw.[46] The project lingered in development for over three years. Jonathan Hensleigh completed a first draft of the script before pulling out around 2006. John Dahl was in talks to direct the film but pulled out due to script quality issues and the studio not wanting to spend a lot of money on the project.[47][48] In a statement on May 15, 2007,[49] and in two audio interviews Thomas Jane said that he pulled out of the project due to creative differences and the budget of the film being cut, in addition to director Walter Hill being turned down as director by Lionsgate.[50][51] After reading the new script by Kurt Sutter, Jane stated:

What I won't do is spend months of my life sweating over a movie that I just don't believe in. I've always loved the Marvel guys, and wish them well. Meanwhile, I'll continue to search for a film that one day might stand with all those films that the fans have asked me to watch.[52][53]

In June 2007, it was reported announced that Lexi Alexander replaced Dahl as director,[54] and that actor Ray Stevenson would replace Thomas Jane in the title role.[55] The Punisher 2 then became Punisher: War Zone,[56][57] a reboot of The Punisher film series with no connection to the 2004 film.[58] The reboot was released on December 5, 2008.[59] This is the second time the film series has been rebooted, after the 2004 production rebooted 1989's The Punisher.[60] Later it was rebooted again for the third time as a television series released from 2017-2019.

Short film

In July 2012, Jane reprised his role as Frank Castle in the unofficial short film The Punisher: Dirty Laundry, which premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con International. The 10-minute film also stars Ron Perlman.[61]

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Punisher". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  2. ^ "THE PUNISHER (18)". British Board of Film Classification. April 21, 2004. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "The Punisher (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  4. ^ Bloom, David (June 30, 2003). "'Punisher' painless in Sony, Marvel deal". Variety. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Slasherama. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  6. ^ Brian Hiatt (April 17, 2004). "Jane Says". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Ethan Alter (April 19, 2004). "Showdown! Punisher vs. Kill Bill".
  8. ^ "Hensleigh Talks Punisher". IGN. January 29, 2004.
  9. ^ . February 12, 2004. Archived from the original on February 12, 2004.
  10. ^ Michael Fleming (April 14, 1997). "A Mania for Marvel". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  11. ^ a b Michael Fleming (April 22, 2002). "Artisan, Marvel pump hero 'Punisher'". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  12. ^ Meredith Amdur (May 4, 2004). "Heroic Marvel gain". Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  13. ^ . Superhero Hype!. September 28, 2003. Archived from the original on January 12, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  14. ^ a b Daniel Robert Epstein (November 30, 2006). . Newsarama. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  15. ^ Michael Fleming (April 3, 2003). "'Punisher' main man Jane". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  16. ^ . October 18, 2003. Archived from the original on October 18, 2003.
  17. ^ Dave Richards (March 23, 2004). "Behind the scenes with "Punisher" writer Michael France". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  18. ^ . writingstudio.co.za. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011.
  19. ^ "Jonathan Hensleigh Reveals 'Punisher' Homages". Comic Book Movie. April 14, 2004. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  20. ^ "An Interview with Kevin Nash". March 26, 2004.
  21. ^ Dave Richards (March 23, 2004). "Behind the scenes with "Punisher" writer Michael France". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  22. ^ "Writer/Director Jonathan Hensleigh on The Punisher". Superhero Hype!. September 28, 2003. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  23. ^ "Domestic 2004 Weekend 16". Box Office Mojo.
  24. ^ "The Punisher (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  25. ^ "The Punisher (2004) Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  26. ^ . CinemaScore.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018.
  27. ^ Ebert, Roger (April 16, 2004). "The Punisher". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  28. ^ Leydon, Joe (April 15, 2004). "The Punisher". Variety. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  29. ^ Dean Kish. . Movie-List. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  30. ^ Chuck O'Leary. "The Punisher - Extended Cut (2004/DVD-Video Set)". Movie-List. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  31. ^ PETER TRAVERS (April 6, 2004). "The Punisher". Rolling Stone.
  32. ^ A.O. Scott (October 8, 2004). "The Punisher's rage is superhuman". Taipei Times. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  33. ^ Drew McWeeny (February 19, 2004). "Moriarty Has Seen The Punisher!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  34. ^ Brett Sporich (September 16, 2004). . The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  35. ^ "Top 10 DVD Sales". Clrpc.com. September 11, 2004. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  36. ^ "The Punisher (2004) - Theatrical or Extended? This or That Edition". May 15, 2016.
  37. ^ "The Punisher (Blu-ray)". Bluray.com. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
  38. ^ "2005 Winners & Nominees". Taurus World Stunt Awards.
  39. ^ . Archived from the original on September 28, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  40. ^ Morfoot, Addie (March 11, 2005). "EIC names 9th annual Prism noms".
  41. ^ Dan Goldwasser (May 10, 2004). "SoundtrackNet : Interview - Carlo Siliotto - Music for Punishment". SoundtrackNet. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  42. ^ "SoundtrackNet: The Punisher Soundtrack". SoundtrackNet.
  43. ^ . Archived from the original on September 24, 2010.
  44. ^ Morris, Clint (February 27, 2004). . Moviehole.net. Archived from the original on May 5, 2004. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
  45. ^ P., Ken (March 5, 2004). . IGN. Archived from the original on March 11, 2004. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
  46. ^ Keck, William (April 13, 2004). "Rebecca is quiet at 'Punisher' premiere". USA Today. Retrieved September 1, 2006.
  47. ^ Jessica Barnes (June 15, 2007). "John Dahl Says 'Punisher 2' Script Not That Good". Cinematical. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  48. ^ Frosty (June 11, 2007). . Collider. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  49. ^ Quint (May 15, 2007). "AICN Exclusive: Thomas Jane dropping out of Punisher 2?!? - Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  50. ^ . Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
  51. ^ . Archived from the original on October 30, 2008.
  52. ^ "Thomas Jane Pull out of Punisher 2". Superhero Hype!. May 15, 2007.
  53. ^ "AICN Exclusive: Thomas Jane dropping out of PUNISHER 2?!?". Ain't It Cool News. May 15, 2007.
  54. ^ Ryan McLelland (June 12, 2006). . LatinoReview.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
  55. ^ "latinoreview.com".
  56. ^ . JustPressPlay.net. August 28, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
  57. ^ diva (August 9, 2007). . Superherohype.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2007. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
  58. ^ Todd Gilchrist (December 6, 2007). . IGN. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2008. Alexander: I would say it's a complete reboot because the first one -- neither of them -- are relevant to us at all
  59. ^ . Superhero Hype!. April 3, 2008. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  60. ^ Michael Fleming (August 1, 2007). . Variety. Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  61. ^ Bettinger, Brendan (July 16, 2012). "Watch DIRTY LAUNDRY, the PUNISHER Short Film Thomas Jane Brought to Comic-Con; Plus 10 Images and a New PUNISHER Logo". Collider.com. Retrieved July 17, 2012.

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to The Punisher (2004 film).

May 09, 2023
punisher, 2004, film, punisher, 2004, american, vigilante, action, film, based, marvel, comics, character, same, name, directed, jonathan, hensleigh, written, hensleigh, michael, france, stars, thomas, jane, antihero, frank, castle, john, travolta, howard, sai. The Punisher is a 2004 American vigilante action film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name directed by Jonathan Hensleigh written by Hensleigh and Michael France It stars Thomas Jane as the antihero Frank Castle and John Travolta as Howard Saint a crime boss who orders the death of Castle s entire family The PunisherTheatrical release posterDirected byJonathan HensleighWritten byJonathan Hensleigh Michael FranceBased onPunisherby Gerry ConwayRoss AndruJohn Romita Sr Produced byAvi Arad Gale Anne HurdStarringThomas Jane John Travolta Will Patton Roy Scheider Laura Harring Ben Foster Rebecca Romijn StamosCinematographyConrad W HallEdited bySteven Kemper Jeff GulloMusic byCarlo SiliottoProductioncompaniesLions Gate Films 1 Marvel Entertainment 1 Distributed byLions Gate Films 1 Release dateApril 16 2004 2004 04 16 Running time123 minutes 2 CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 33 million 3 Box office 54 7 million 3 The film s story and plot were mainly based on two Punisher comic book stories the 1994 miniseries The Punisher Year One by writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and the 2000 01 miniseries Welcome Back Frank by writer Garth Ennis though some scenes were derived from other Punisher stories such as Marvel Preview Presents The Punisher 2 Marvel Super Action Featuring The Punisher 1 The Punisher War Zone and The Punisher War Journal The Punisher was shot on location in Tampa Florida and environs in mid to late 2003 It was distributed by Lions Gate Films in North America although Artisan Entertainment which released a 1989 film adaptation of the same name on DVD financed and co distributed the film with eventual Artisan owner Lionsgate while Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International distributed the film in non North American territories 4 Screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh agreed to helm the film during its development stage despite a dispute with Marvel Studios marking his directorial debut The film was released on April 16 2004 by Lions Gate Films grossing 13 million in the United States over its opening weekend and reached a total gross of 54 million against a budget of 33 million Reviews were generally negative Marvel Comics and Lionsgate began development on a sequel The Punisher 2 which instead became the 2008 reboot Punisher War Zone after Jane and Hensleigh left the project due to creative differences This was the final film produced by Artisan Entertainment for theatrical distribution Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 4 1 Box office 4 2 Critical response 4 3 Home media 4 4 Accolades 5 Music 6 Merchandise 7 Cancelled sequel and reboot 7 1 Short film 8 References 9 External linksPlot EditAn FBI bust of smuggling operation in Tampa results in the deaths of Bobby Saint the son of mafia boss Howard Saint and Otto Krieg an arms dealer However Krieg s death was faked and he is revealed to be undercover FBI agent Frank Castle on his final mission before retirement Enraged at the death of his son Saint orders his men to learn everything they can about Krieg and acquires access by bribing corrupt federal law enforcement officers for his federal service history He orders Castle killed at a family reunion in Puerto Rico though Saint s wife Livia insists that Castle s family be killed as well At the reunion Saint s men including Saint s best friend Quentin Glass and Bobby s identical twin John kill Castle s entire family Though Frank Castle Sr takes down some of the attackers John then shoots Castle leaving him for dead However Castle survives and is nursed back to health by a local fisherman With the police and FBI unwilling to pursue the killers due to Saint s power and influence Castle moves into an abandoned apartment occupied by three outcasts Joan Bumpo and Spacker Dave and begins his mission to bring the Saints down With the help of information provided by Mickey Duka Saint s less malevolent henchman Castle studies the Saint family and learns their every move during which he discovers Glass to be a closeted homosexual He openly attacks Saint s business and sabotages his partnership with his Cuban partners Saint discovers Castle is alive and sends assassins to kill him The first Harry Heck ambushes Castle on a bridge but is killed when Castle fires a ballistic knife into his throat The second a Russian behemoth nearly beats Castle to death in his own apartment but Castle manages to kill him as well The tenants treat Castle s wounds and hide him in his hidden elevator as Saint s men arrive for him When Dave and Bumpo refuse to reveal Castle s hideout Glass tortures Dave by plucking each of his piercings with pliers They leave one of their men to intercept Castle but Castle kills him after they leave With Mickey s help Castle poses as an anonymous blackmailer and arranges for Glass to be at certain places while planting Livia s car in the same location and ultimately placing one of Livia s earrings in Glass s bed When Saint finds the earrings he stabs Glass to death and despite her protest that Glass was gay accuses Livia of having an affair with his best friend He throws Livia off an overpass onto a railroad track where she is run over by a train With Saint despondent Castle assaults Saint s club and kills every member of his mob including his remaining son John Saint escapes the building albeit wounded Castle pursues him and shoots him in a duel As Saint lies dying Castle reveals his schemes that led Saint to kill his friend and wife He ties Saint to a car and sends it into the club s parking lot which is rigged with explosives Saint perishes in the ensuing explosion Castle returns home and prepares to kill himself with his mission fulfilled but changes his mind after seeing a vision of his wife instead deciding to continue to fight crime He leaves some of Saint s money as a farewell gift to the tenants for protecting him He is then seen standing alone on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at sunset where in a voice over he vows to kill all killers rapists psychopaths sadists and anyone else who harms innocent people in any way in his new identity the Punisher Cast EditThomas Jane as Frank Castle credited as Tom Jane John Travolta as Howard Saint Will Patton as Quentin Glass Roy Scheider as Frank Castle Sr Laura Harring as Livia Saint Ben Foster as Spacker Dave Samantha Mathis as Maria Castle James Carpinello as Bobby Saint John Saint Russell Andrews as Jimmy Weeks Eddie Jemison as Mickey Duka John Pinette as Bumpo Rebecca Romijn as Joan Hensleigh and Arad have said in many interviews that Jane was the first and only actor to be asked to play the title role 5 Arad had previously pursued Jane for other roles in Marvel Studios films 6 He turned down the Punisher twice as he did not see himself as a superhero actor 5 Jane said when asked the second time to play the Punisher that he became interested when Arad sent Tim Bradstreet s artwork of the character After learning more about the Punisher he accepted Jane went on to read as many Punisher comics he could find to understand the character and became a fan of the Punisher in the process Jane trained for six to seven months with the United States Navy SEALs and gained more than twenty pounds of muscle for the part 7 Production EditI had to ask myself intellectual questions like To what extent do crimes against a person become so unconscionable so heinous that even a person who does not believe in vigilantism can resort to vigilantism in a more just way That was the equation for me I told Marvel that I didn t just want to do a revenge story that I wanted to do the mother of all revenge stories I wanted to ramp everything up I can t really go further without doing spoilers here The underlying events that give rise to Frank Castle s vigilantism are not from the comic I invented a lot of that I made it a lot worse Jonathan Hensleigh on The Punisher 8 9 Marvel Studios began development for a new Punisher film as early as 1997 10 In 2000 Marvel made a long term agreement with Artisan Entertainment to turn 15 of their characters into films and TV shows among them The Punisher with Gale Anne Hurd to produce 11 The Punisher marked Marvel s first major independent release as an equity owner whereby it contributes characters and creative support to lower budget pics in exchange for a financial stake in the negative cost 12 Screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh signed on in April 2002 and The Punisher also became his directing debut 11 The story and plot were mainly based on two Punisher comic book stories Welcome Back Frank and The Punisher Year One Hensleigh explained he had to excise much of the influence from Welcome Back Frank as it would have likely been a four hour long film 13 Before filming began Hensleigh was not given the budget he wanted or needed from the studio Hensleigh knew that most action pictures get a budget of around 64 million He was only given 33 million with only 15 5 million going towards the shooting budget and post production for the film 14 with only 52 days to shoot which is half the time allocated for most action pictures Most of Hensleigh s original script had to be edited and re written many times due to budget issues According to the DVD commentary the first scene in the film would have been a battle set in Kuwait during the Gulf War but they were unable to film this scene as a result of the budget cuts Principal photography for The Punisher began in July 2003 15 on location in Tampa Florida Filming finished October 14 2003 after 52 days of filming 16 The Florida location was first chosen at the insistence of screenwriter Michael France who advised Marvel and Artisan that it would be cheap to shoot there that they d get a lot more for their money than in New York or Chicago as well as wanting to use both sunny locations and dark industrial locations in the screenplay 17 For inspiration Hensleigh and cinematographer Conrad W Hall looked at dozens of action films from the 1960s and 1970s such as the Dirty Harry series The Getaway The Good the Bad and the Ugly The Godfather and Bonnie and Clyde 18 In an interview Hensleigh also stated the film pays homage to Mad Max and William Shakespeare s Othello though while he was inspired by Othello the characters were reversed for the film making the Punisher the instigator of the jealousy which leads to Howard Saint murdering his best friend and wife 19 After shooting Lionsgate then known as Lions Gate Films purchased Artisan In an interview Hensleigh said that even though the film is distributed under the Lionsgate imprint they had nothing to do with the film Lionsgate never gave a green light for the film to be made The film was still under Artisan Entertainment 14 During shooting of a fight scene Jane legitimately stabbed Nash in the collarbone with a blunted butterfly knife after a stunt co ordinator forgot to change the props Nash did not break character and continued the scene and accepted cold beers from the crew as compensation 20 The character of Microchip was originally included in an earlier Michael France draft along with the character Jigsaw 21 but was excised from later drafts because of director Jonathan Hensleigh s distaste for him Instead the character of Mickey Duka who was heavily based upon the character Mickey Fondozzi citation needed serves as an ally of Frank Castle Regarding the exclusion of Microchip Hensleigh had this to say There are a couple of years where I didn t want to go Microchip the battle van all that stuff where it got really high tech we re not going there at all I deemed that too complicated too lacking of the spirit of the sort of urban vigilante The Punisher doesn t just go around blowing people away he uses guile and cunning just as much as he does weaponry and physical combat 22 Reception EditBox office Edit The Punisher opened in 2 649 theaters on April 16 2004 and grossed 13 8 million over its opening weekend ranking at 2 at the box office behind Kill Bill Volume 2 7 23 The film has a US gross of 33 8 million and an international gross of 20 9 million giving it a worldwide total of 54 7 million 3 Critical response Edit On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 29 based on reviews from 170 critics with an average rating of 4 5 10 The website s critical consensus states A good cast fails to elevate this overly violent and by the numbers revenge flick 24 On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 33 based on reviews from 36 critics indicating generally unfavorable reviews 25 Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of B 26 Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film two stars stating The Punisher is so grim and cheerless you wonder if even its hero gets any satisfaction from his accomplishments 27 Joe Leydon of Variety describes the film as depressingly rote and sometimes laughably silly Leydon praises Jane for his appropriate physicality and brooding gravitas but criticizes Travolta saying he does nothing to inject fresh life into bland archetype 28 Some reviewers defended the film stating that compared to most comic book based films it is a well done throwback to the old school action films of the 1960s and 1970s 29 30 31 Critic A O Scott stated But lightness is not among Hensleigh s gifts Making his directorial debut after a successful run as a screenwriter and producer on projects like Die Hard with a Vengeance Jumanji and The Rock he has clearly conceived The Punisher as a throwback to the leathery angry urban revenge movies of the 1970s 32 Drew McWeeny of Ain t It Cool News said of the style of the film that The Punisher has more in common with the work of Don Siegel and John Frankenheimer than it does with the work of Michael Bay or Simon West Which isn t to say that it s the equal of those classics but at least Hensleigh s got the right idea The Punisher is pulp served up gritty and ugly and brutal It s not jam packed full of one liners What humor there is in the film is dark 33 Home media Edit The film was released via DVD on September 7 2004 and sold nearly 1 8 million copies in its first five days 34 and netted 10 8 million in rentals its first week making it number one in DVD sales that week 35 An extended cut DVD was released on November 21 2006 with 17 minutes of additional footage most of which revolves around the character Jimmy Weeks Russell Andrews and Castle realizing that it was his friend who had sold him out to Howard Saint In retaliation Castle forces Weeks to commit suicide Features also include a black and white stop motion animated scene set in Kuwait based on and partially done by artist Tim Bradstreet and a Punisher comic book gallery An extended version of In Time by Mark Collie also appears in the closing credits of the extended cut DVD 36 This version does not include the special features on the standard DVD release The Punisher was released via Blu ray Disc on June 27 2006 and only included the theatrical cut 37 Accolades Edit Mark Chadwick won Best Fire Stunt at the Taurus World Stunt Awards 38 Several other crew members were nominated for work on the film Donna Evans for Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman Gary Hymes for Best Stunt Coordinator or 2nd Unit Director and Keii Johnston and Dane Farwell for Best Work with a Vehicle The Punisher was also nominated for a Prism Award in the Wide Release Feature Film category 39 40 Music EditFurther information The Punisher The Album and The Punisher 2004 score The score to The Punisher was composed and conducted by Italian composer Carlo Siliotto Director Jonathan Hensleigh wanted the music to be very emotional and was aware of Siliotto s previous work which led to him being chosen When scoring the film Siliotto saw Frank Castle as a tragic figure stating This man Frank Castle is somebody who has a slaughtered family He comes through that slaughter and becomes a punisher But he s a sad man he drinks and has bad memories always coming to him There s a lot in the film and at times it is like a modern version of a classic tragedy like Othello 41 42 Merchandise EditPrior to release a novelization was written by D A Stern and released in March 2004 43 Jane reprised the role of Frank Castle in the 2005 video game The Punisher Cancelled sequel and reboot EditLions Gate Entertainment planned to produce a direct sequel titled The Punisher 2 with Avi Arad chairman and CEO of Marvel Studios stating that the second film would become the fifth Marvel property to become a sequel 44 Jonathan Hensleigh said that he was interested in working with Thomas Jane again for The Punisher 2 45 Jane said that the villain for The Punisher 2 would be Jigsaw 46 The project lingered in development for over three years Jonathan Hensleigh completed a first draft of the script before pulling out around 2006 John Dahl was in talks to direct the film but pulled out due to script quality issues and the studio not wanting to spend a lot of money on the project 47 48 In a statement on May 15 2007 49 and in two audio interviews Thomas Jane said that he pulled out of the project due to creative differences and the budget of the film being cut in addition to director Walter Hill being turned down as director by Lionsgate 50 51 After reading the new script by Kurt Sutter Jane stated What I won t do is spend months of my life sweating over a movie that I just don t believe in I ve always loved the Marvel guys and wish them well Meanwhile I ll continue to search for a film that one day might stand with all those films that the fans have asked me to watch 52 53 In June 2007 it was reported announced that Lexi Alexander replaced Dahl as director 54 and that actor Ray Stevenson would replace Thomas Jane in the title role 55 The Punisher 2 then became Punisher War Zone 56 57 a reboot of The Punisher film series with no connection to the 2004 film 58 The reboot was released on December 5 2008 59 This is the second time the film series has been rebooted after the 2004 production rebooted 1989 s The Punisher 60 Later it was rebooted again for the third time as a television series released from 2017 2019 Short film Edit In July 2012 Jane reprised his role as Frank Castle in the unofficial short film The Punisher Dirty Laundry which premiered at the San Diego Comic Con International The 10 minute film also stars Ron Perlman 61 References Edit a b c The Punisher AFI Catalog of Feature Films Retrieved June 6 2017 THE PUNISHER 18 British Board of Film Classification April 21 2004 Retrieved April 4 2015 a b c The Punisher 2004 Box Office Mojo Retrieved January 27 2019 Bloom David June 30 2003 Punisher painless in Sony Marvel deal Variety Retrieved November 22 2020 a b Capital Punishment The Punisher s Tom Jane tells Slasherama about his balls to the wall punk rock action movie Slasherama Archived from the original on April 20 2016 Retrieved December 18 2008 Brian Hiatt April 17 2004 Jane Says Entertainment Weekly Retrieved October 11 2014 a b Ethan Alter April 19 2004 Showdown Punisher vs Kill Bill Hensleigh Talks Punisher IGN January 29 2004 Sci Fi Wire The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel February 12 2004 Archived from the original on February 12 2004 Michael Fleming April 14 1997 A Mania for Marvel Variety Retrieved October 11 2014 a b Michael Fleming April 22 2002 Artisan Marvel pump hero Punisher Variety Retrieved October 11 2014 Meredith Amdur May 4 2004 Heroic Marvel gain Retrieved October 11 2014 Writer Director Jonathan Hensleigh on The Punisher Superhero Hype September 28 2003 Archived from the original on January 12 2009 Retrieved January 4 2009 a b Daniel Robert Epstein November 30 2006 Jonathan Hensleigh Looking Back On The Punisher Newsarama Archived from the original on October 12 2007 Retrieved January 27 2019 Michael Fleming April 3 2003 Punisher main man Jane Variety Retrieved October 11 2014 That s A Wrap For Cast Crew Of Punisher From The Tampa Tribune October 18 2003 Archived from the original on October 18 2003 Dave Richards March 23 2004 Behind the scenes with Punisher writer Michael France Comic Book Resources Retrieved November 4 2009 Page Title writingstudio co za Archived from the original on September 30 2011 Jonathan Hensleigh Reveals Punisher Homages Comic Book Movie April 14 2004 Retrieved January 4 2009 An Interview with Kevin Nash March 26 2004 Dave Richards March 23 2004 Behind the scenes with Punisher writer Michael France Comic Book Resources Retrieved January 4 2009 Writer Director Jonathan Hensleigh on The Punisher Superhero Hype September 28 2003 Retrieved July 16 2011 Domestic 2004 Weekend 16 Box Office Mojo The Punisher 2004 Rotten Tomatoes Fandango Media Retrieved August 28 2022 The Punisher 2004 Reviews Metacritic CBS Interactive Retrieved September 28 2019 Cinemascore Movie Title Search CinemaScore com Archived from the original on February 6 2018 Ebert Roger April 16 2004 The Punisher Chicago Sun Times Retrieved October 1 2019 Leydon Joe April 15 2004 The Punisher Variety Retrieved October 1 2019 Dean Kish Movie List Reviews The Punisher Movie List Archived from the original on January 3 2009 Retrieved January 27 2019 Chuck O Leary The Punisher Extended Cut 2004 DVD Video Set Movie List Retrieved January 5 2009 PETER TRAVERS April 6 2004 The Punisher Rolling Stone A O Scott October 8 2004 The Punisher s rage is superhuman Taipei Times Retrieved January 5 2009 Drew McWeeny February 19 2004 Moriarty Has Seen The Punisher Ain t It Cool News Retrieved January 5 2009 Brett Sporich September 16 2004 Man On Fire punisher Top Retail Sales The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on January 7 2009 Retrieved January 5 2009 Top 10 DVD Sales Clrpc com September 11 2004 Retrieved January 5 2009 The Punisher 2004 Theatrical or Extended This or That Edition May 15 2016 The Punisher Blu ray Bluray com Retrieved December 31 2008 2005 Winners amp Nominees Taurus World Stunt Awards 2005 Wide Release Film Archived from the original on September 28 2008 Retrieved January 5 2009 Morfoot Addie March 11 2005 EIC names 9th annual Prism noms Dan Goldwasser May 10 2004 SoundtrackNet Interview Carlo Siliotto Music for Punishment SoundtrackNet Retrieved January 5 2009 SoundtrackNet The Punisher Soundtrack SoundtrackNet D A Stern Handling Punisher Novelization Archived from the original on September 24 2010 Morris Clint February 27 2004 Lions Gate starting on The Punisher 2 Moviehole net Archived from the original on May 5 2004 Retrieved August 31 2006 P Ken March 5 2004 An Interview with Jonathan Hensleigh IGN Archived from the original on March 11 2004 Retrieved August 31 2006 Keck William April 13 2004 Rebecca is quiet at Punisher premiere USA Today Retrieved September 1 2006 Jessica Barnes June 15 2007 John Dahl Says Punisher 2 Script Not That Good Cinematical Retrieved January 5 2009 Frosty June 11 2007 John Dahl is not directing Punisher 2 Collider Archived from the original on September 15 2008 Retrieved January 5 2009 Quint May 15 2007 AICN Exclusive Thomas Jane dropping out of Punisher 2 Ain t It Cool News The best in movie TV DVD and comic book news Ain t It Cool News Retrieved January 5 2009 Fanboy Radio Thomas Jane Archived from the original on January 22 2009 Retrieved July 10 2008 Fangoria Radio Thomas Jane Archived from the original on October 30 2008 Thomas Jane Pull out of Punisher 2 Superhero Hype May 15 2007 AICN Exclusive Thomas Jane dropping out of PUNISHER 2 Ain t It Cool News May 15 2007 Ryan McLelland June 12 2006 Punisher 2 Lands A Director LatinoReview com Archived from the original on August 8 2007 Retrieved September 12 2007 latinoreview com Official Sequel Title Now Punisher War Zone JustPressPlay net August 28 2007 Archived from the original on September 26 2007 Retrieved August 28 2007 diva August 9 2007 Punisher 2 Working Title and Start Date Superherohype com Archived from the original on September 22 2007 Retrieved August 11 2007 Todd Gilchrist December 6 2007 Interview Lexi Alexander IGN Archived from the original on December 9 2007 Retrieved December 1 2008 Alexander I would say it s a complete reboot because the first one neither of them are relevant to us at all Punisher Will Enter War Zone 3 Months Later Superhero Hype April 3 2008 Archived from the original on January 8 2009 Retrieved December 14 2008 Michael Fleming August 1 2007 Punisher gets Lionsgate overhaul Variety Archived from the original on September 26 2008 Retrieved December 14 2008 Bettinger Brendan July 16 2012 Watch DIRTY LAUNDRY the PUNISHER Short Film Thomas Jane Brought to Comic Con Plus 10 Images and a New PUNISHER Logo Collider com Retrieved July 17 2012 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to The Punisher 2004 film The Punisher at Marvel com The Punisher at IMDb The Punisher at the TCM Movie Database The Punisher at the Internet Movie Firearms Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Punisher 2004 film amp oldid 1150612676, wikipedia, wiki, book, 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