[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]fraggle wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]fraggle wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]fraggle wrote:
[quote]kevinm1 wrote:
Punisher televsion show this has fail written all over it, part of what makes Frank Frank is the death of his family this guy is just a cop who decides to be judge jury and executioner[/quote]
I was thinking the same thing. It was my favourite comic growing up, and it sucks to see such a great character ruined time after time.
Off the top of my head, I can’t think of another comic brought to film or tv as badly.[/quote]
Ghost Rider.[/quote]
Lol, I knew someone was going to bring that steaming pile up.
Ghost Rider may have been done worse as a single movie, but they’ve had three chances to make the Punisher right. It was done worse just on sheer volume.[/quote]
The first movie doesn’t count - it was produced by Cannon and they butchered every comic book movie that came their way…and there are more missteps in Ghost Rider than in Punisher 2004 and War Zone combined. Jelly beans in a champagne glass? That’s like giving Castle a tutu and tiara.[/quote]
The tutu and tiara was a deleted scene in War Zone. 
Joking aside, I had forgotten how bad that movie was, but I still maintain Punisher has been shit on worse. The first one counts, as it was an example of what not to do. Before War Zone, they had 2 chances to see what worked and what didn’t, and they still fucked it up.
If the GR sequel is equally as bad, I will concede.
[/quote]
Let’s be Frank here(pun intended) - the Cannon movie was a Punisher movie in name only. Any references to the comic were fleeting.
Knowing Cannon, it was more than likely a recycled ninja movie script. It didn’t have enough of the comic in it to get wrong; they just tacked on enough to call it a Punisher movie.
The 2004 version is tantalizingly close to being a very good movie (Jane, Travolta as a non-hammy villain, Punisher vs. the Russian, the guitar playing hitman). The crux of the problem is how they killed Castle’s family, and the decision to saddle him with three neighbors who took up a lot of screen time - time which would have been better spent on scenes of delicious violence - and whose only function was to humanize an essentially irredeemable character.
I can’t remember much about War Zone - that’s probably both a good and bad thing.[/quote]
I don’t know much about cannon, but yeah, there wasn’t a whole lot in common between the film and comic. Are you are saying it was never intended to be a punisher movie, but just a way to suck money out of fans through the name?
I generally agree with you about 2004, except that I thought Travolta sucked.
The biggest problem I have with his film treatment is that they make completely unnecessary changes from the comics, time after time. The punisher back story is elegant in it’s simplicity. Random unpredictable event destroys everything highly skilled veteran has to live for. Justice is denied through ordinary channels, and boom the Punisher is born. The right person could do a lot with the psychological/philosophical aspect, and still make a kick ass action movie.
I didn’t actually see all of War Zone, as my inlaws had rented it and I had to leave with about a half hour left. It was bad enough that I didn’t feel the need to finish. One part that stuck out was the unrealistic violence, as in, somebody gets shot and they fly thirty feet. It kind of went over the top on gore as well. I at least like the semblance of realism in movies that don’t involve magic or superpowers.
