The Punisher (2004) Review
Castle is an FBI agent and U.S. Army Delta Force
operator whose family is murdered at a retirement party for Castle in Puerto
Rico. Castle appears undercover as an European arms dealer, Otto Kreig, whom
allegedly died in a shootout with Bobby Saint while Mickey Duka is jailed .
When a mob discovers Kreig isn't dead and he goes by the name of Castle,
chaos erupts and a witch-hunt begins.
Castle's extended family is killed immediately as
his wife and son are run over by a truck in an attempt to escape. When
Castle falls upon his dead family he becomes a different man- a man who is left
alone in the world. He declares war on the mob for killing his wife and son. In
preparation of leaving Puerto Rico for Tampa, Florida, Castle meets a fisherman
who gives him a black t-shirt with a white face of the Punisher on it that his
son originally gives him. He is told by his son that the t-shirt is
to keep "evil spirits" away thus it becomes a character in the film.
This action/thriller film keeps me on my toes
throughout its entirety. It has a dark and depressing tone as Castle finds
redemption in assembling guns, grenades, knives, and explosives. Castle's
mission is to kill everyone in the mob--significant others and children. After
all, what's worse than being stabbed in the back, punched in the gut, and
having a hole drilled in a your head?...Torturing your loved ones!
The Punisher sparks many reactions from me. A
few lines make me chuckle with Castle's friends of misfits, and I cringe in a
couple of scenes forcing a hand over my face only to peek through my fingers. I
don't want to see a knife being shoved underneath someone’s chin meeting the
roof of his mouth only to see the blade, or watch as piercings are plucked one
by one out a face in an attempt to make one of the misfits forfeit information.
I can't, however, miss a beat.
The Punisher is skilled in his murderous
attempts. What I find most intriguing about this film is that Castle is
not an over-sized hero shot up with steroids having an extremely large chest
and muscles that can pick up a 400 ton truck with his pinkie finger. He is a
fit man, leading an "ordinary" life with his wife and son until he
pissed off the wrong person. The Punisher can be viewed much like The
Godfather, an Italian Mafia, rendering drugs and weapons who has a lot of
pull in his community and country causing a whirlwind of chaos to those who
encounter him.
Killers, rapists, psychos, and sadists better watch out because the
Punisher isn't going to have any sympathy for those who do evil things. He
is a true vigilant.
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