How to do the Punisher Right

How to do the Punisher Right

What should have been and what should be.

Editorial Opinion
By Anthony1992 - Mar 17, 2011 06:03 AM EST
Filed Under: Punisher
Source: ComicBookMovie.com

I'm extremely excited to hear that Ray Stevenson might be reprising the role of Frank Castle/Punisher and that the rights are back with Marvel Studios. (: This makes for endless possibilities with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether or not Marvel Studios chooses to pursue putting Castle in with the rest of the heroes, it's just good all around that Punisher is back where he belongs.

Please keep in mind during this article that I'm not trying to sound like a pretentious bastard or anything of the sort, but just a big fan that wants to see a good adaptation finally.

I think there are definitely quite a few things that need to be considered while writing this film and introducing new elements that are key to Frank Castle.

1. The costume: Tim Bradstreet had the look down perfectly. Concealable body armor, An overcoat, the classic skull. There was nothing that was too much or not tactical. While I understand that this was used by the Tom Jane film, I believe that Stevenson would be a much better fit for this particular costume, it just looks downright menacing.

2. Partners that actually contribute: It's about time that we've seen some sort of partner or just a fellow soldier from back in the day. Yorkie Mitchell would be perfect. If we could see just a tad bit of Kitchen Irish in the next film it could pay off. In the last 2 films you saw Micky Duka feed a bit of info here and there, you had Micro and Carlos in War Zone, but no one really gave a real contribution or any memorable appearances. If we could see some similar scene to the docks in Kitchen Irish with Castle and Mitchell doing a double M-60 assault on a bunch of bangers, done right, it could be a great add in. Or Katheryn O'Brien. She's definitely a favorite. I would say Jenny Cesare but that would leave out the Punisher through a good portion.

3. Villains: This is the biggie. Who shall be the next villain? Although my favorite antagonist without a doubt is Finn Cooley, I think it's time we see someone who's actually a physical match for Frank.
A.)Barracuda would be the obvious choice for this. It's time to see the Punisher get into a real fight. I'd like to see everything involved too. Frank slicing his fingers off, choking him with barbed wire, Barracuda's unnerving optimism, the shark scene. All of these things would set a new standard in CBM's for gritty, gory uncensored goodies (With realistic FX's) and disturbing characters and faithfulness to source material. You just can't go wrong with Barracuda, because the best thing of Garth Ennis' writing is that throughout the story, before all the blood, guts, constant profanity, and drugs is a well established story with well established characters. No personality is skin deep in Ennis' run.

B.) The second person who could make a good villain would be Nicky Cavella. Nicky is just a really messed up individual. He kills his family, screws his aunt, cooks middle schooled kids into a sauce for daddy, and let's not forget digging up the Castle family grave. He's a true psychotic but also a dead on coward. This would be a great contrast for a Punisher villain. You could establish his story in opening credits or open the story with Castle Vs. Bethell and the CIA and put like a "1 year later" somewhere to start off Up is Down-Black is White. Appearances by Rawlins would be awesome as well but I really wouldn't care to see him unless his story was established.

4.) The direction of Castle and main story: I think we could all benefit from a break from the heartbreak and kids. The whole point of the story of the Punisher is that he will never stop doing what he does and he doesn't know what he would be doing with himself otherwise. The story doesn't necessarily need a moral or message at the end of the film., I.E. Revenge, redemption. It just needs to be a downright gritty, bloody, menacing film with a solid story and solid actors. You can call me ridiculous for saying this but I think this film needs to have a love scene or something or other with O'Brien. Simply to establish that Castle is aware that his wife is gone, she's never coming back, it's been years. You know? Another good add on would be a monologue throughout the movie and sarcastic last words. It's one of my favorite parts of the Punisher is that in the heat of the moment you get in his head and his strategy is explained. Such as "They put the sights on top for a reason." or "No time to reload the shotgun, here's where it gets tricky" *Pulls out pistol*

Anyway, thanks for reading my long article. Leave ideas and feedback please.

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airrun2000
airrun2000 - 3/17/2011, 7:33 AM
Long but insightful and worth the read. Good acticle and I agree with it.
Anthony1992
Anthony1992 - 3/17/2011, 7:40 AM
Thanks very much.
spider1489
spider1489 - 3/17/2011, 8:50 AM
i honestly think war zone was a great ! but the only problem with it was the acting! it had alot of shity actors! the only good one was ray
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/17/2011, 9:44 AM
short of mentioning him, or maybe having little cameos, The Punisher is one character that should actually have nothing to do with the Avengers films. He's a much better character when he's off doing his own thing.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/17/2011, 9:45 AM
oh yeah, Warzone sucked. it was too hokey and didn't capture the feel of the comics. even the gore was done in a comical way. taht movie sucked so bad.
Anthony1992
Anthony1992 - 3/17/2011, 9:51 AM
I think it would work to do a Punisher/Fury spinoff at best. It would definitely be interesting.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/17/2011, 9:53 AM
@ anthony

well, Fury has a history of being in Punisher comics anyway, so that would make sense. Fury has used Punisher for many missions when he couldn't trust anyone else to get the job done.
Anthony1992
Anthony1992 - 3/17/2011, 10:09 AM
Definitely. The Mother Russia Arc would be a great story to bring to life. Have you read it?
AlexdoxA
AlexdoxA - 3/17/2011, 10:30 AM
he's back at marvel.... CAMEOS!!!!
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/17/2011, 11:29 AM
@ anthony

yeah! Mother Russia is one of the best Punisher stories of all time! But then again, Ennis' run on Punisher Max was legendary. I can't see anyone doing the Punisher justice after his run. He wrote the definitive Punisher in my opinion.
TorturedXGenius
TorturedXGenius - 3/17/2011, 2:58 PM
they already did THE PUNISHER right..it was called 'Man On Fire" with Denzel Washington lol
screams
screams - 3/17/2011, 10:48 PM
Great article. I really hope something good happens. Keep Stevenson and make a good smart Punisher movie, it's not as hard as it should be...

I especially agree with the running monologue. That would be a nice addition. Same with the idea of not having a moral point. One thing I liked about Ennis' Punisher is most of the time there was no moral point, it was just a dark toned series that just went on and on... true to the character, as you say he wouldn't know what he'd do if he wasn't the Punisher.

And Barracuda or Cavella would be a great villain. I thought that before War Zone actually.
Orphix
Orphix - 3/18/2011, 5:06 AM
I have always prefered it when the punisher is a villain - or at least presents a main obstacle to more heroic protagonists.

Him going up against Cap would be pretty awesome. They are basically two sides of the same coin.
CapFan79
CapFan79 - 3/19/2011, 5:45 PM
I thought the first film was good, just that having to set it in Tampa made it feel a bit off. Never saw War Zone because it looked like garbage.
darktoast
darktoast - 3/21/2011, 11:22 AM
Stay away from cameos in a Punisher flick. They just wouldn't really work, just like Frank doesn't usually work when thrown into a standard superhero comic. Spidey jumping in and shooting a quick quip would feel strained to say the least, they have nothing in common.

I completely agree with the whole Barracuda segment of your article. Aside from Barracuda being one of my favorite runs, i think it'd make the best stand alone film. It's a complete story that I think would be extremely easy to fit into one movie without needing a trilogy or even a sequel.

What they need to do with Punisher movies, is simple, stick to a rated R film.

Personally, I'd avoid the whole movie thing period. I'd go to Starz or HBO and shoot for a series or even just a mini-series. Frank's war on crime would be perfect for the episodic medium like cable tv. Plus it'd give Marvel an in for making some more adult oriented films. Characters like Moon Knight, Wolverine, Nick Fury (the original, not the Sam Jackson Ultimate version crap), Black Widow, these are all characters that would be perfect for a cable series imho.

darktoast
darktoast - 3/21/2011, 11:25 AM
Stay away from cameos in a Punisher flick. They just wouldn't really work, just like Frank doesn't usually work when thrown into a standard superhero comic. Spidey jumping in and shooting a quick quip would feel strained to say the least, they have nothing in common.

I completely agree with the whole Barracuda segment of your article. Aside from Barracuda being one of my favorite runs, i think it'd make the best stand alone film. It's a complete story that I think would be extremely easy to fit into one movie without needing a trilogy or even a sequel.

What they need to do with Punisher movies, is simple, stick to a rated R film.

Personally, I'd avoid the whole movie thing period. I'd go to Starz or HBO and shoot for a series or even just a mini-series. Frank's war on crime would be perfect for the episodic medium like cable tv. Plus it'd give Marvel an in for making some more adult oriented films. Characters like Moon Knight, Wolverine, Nick Fury (the original, not the Sam Jackson Ultimate version crap), Black Widow, these are all characters that would be perfect for a cable series imho.

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