Ok, so I got all spiffed up and ready for the movie (wearing my silk-screened Punisher shirt I got a couple years back), and met Jim at the theater. It was time to see if The Punisher would live up to my expectations ...
Before heading off to the show this afternoon (I try to go early so I don't have to fight for seats, or wait more then an hour in line), I checked out the Yahoo! Reviews. After reading the first couple review by critics, I was worried (lots of talk about how depressing the movie was, etc). I was already depressed because of the "R" rating ... The critic reviews only made it worse.
Then I read the users review, and immediately began to feel much better (almost all A's). This once again affirmed my opinion that critics have lost all sense of what movies are about (2+ hours of having fun and leaving reality).
Overall I thought the movie was great ... Don't believe anybody that says there is no humor in the film. There's tons. My wife even laughed (not a common occurrence during "My" movies), and later said she liked it (except some of the violence was a little too realistic).
Acting was superb (one of the few things that the critics got right). Thomas Jane makes a GREAT Punisher (note that "Frank Castle is dead") and the 3 "misfits" (including the always lovely Rebecca Romjin) did great, and added some comedy relief, as well as helped flesh out some of the story and add a little emotion to the story.
The action (when he's taking out Saint's men) is fairly graphic ... Not really bloody (as in legs being chopped off), but brutal (arrows through throats, etc).
I had two problems with the movie (minor ones) ...
1. The ending was obviously meant for a sequel (or two or three) ... But it was pretty cheesy ... That's really my only beef with the movie. Othere then that it rocked!
2. During the action, a kid behind us kept saying "That was cool!" ... The first time was funny. The second time was kind of annoying. The dozen times after that were enough to drive a person crazy. Note to the parent: Have your kid checked out. It's not normal for one that's in his early teens to be so fascinated with violence ...
My only question is, when are they going to do a Daredevil, Spider-Man, Punisher cross-over?
;o)
About The Author:
ComicBookMovie.com and Best Little Sites was the brainchild of Nate and a friend way back in 2002. Nate initially focused on the back-end programming and front-end design, but now manages the company and its associated sites as well, with a LOT of help from some very talented contributors.
Nate has loved comics from a very young age and continues to read them on a regular basis thanks to subscriptions to various titles (both Marvel and DC). He also loves movies, as his wife and children will attest. He's not overly critical of movies, so his reviews should be taken with a grain of salt as he's much more interested in being entertained and escaping the "real" world for a couple of hours than finding every conceivable plot-hole and character flaw in a film.
Outside of his guilty "nerdy" pleasures, Nate enjoys spending time with his wife and three boys, CrossFit, playing guitar, coaching youth sports and MMA (he spent a couple of years in the cage as an NHB fighter, but is now MUCH too old).