Anti-Hero Week: The Punisher

Howdy readers of mine and welcome to Day 2 of Anti-Hero Week.  Quick question though, have you ever had a bad day?  Tire go flat?  Celtics lose on you or you know, have your entire family massacred in front of you?   Probably not the last for most of us but Frank Castle sure had a bad day and now he is venting his frustration out on the criminal scumbags.  This is The Punisher.

Hey, that's not Green Arrow!!  Rip!!!

The Punisher: Those who do evil to spoilers- the killers, the rapists, psychos, sadists- you will come to know me well. Frank Castle is dead.  Call me...  The Punisher.




Special Agent FBI undercover Frank Castle (Thomas Jane of Deep Blue Sea, Magnolia. Eden, Dreamcatcher Hung and The Mist) is wrapping up his last assignment on a major arms deal covering Europe and the States when the deal goes sour and more than a few guys get shot.   Castle is moving out to London with his family within a week and gotten his farewell from the department and heads out to Puerto Rico for a family get together.  One of the aforementioned men that got shot was Robert/Bobby Saint (James Carpinello of The Great Raid, So Notorious, The Good Wife, Holiday Road, Body of Proof, The Mob Doctor and Gangster Squad) son of alleged money launderer Howard Saint (John Travolta of Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Welcome Back, Kotter, Pulp Fiction, Broken Arrow, The General's Daughter, Swordfish and From Paris with Love) who wants blood for blood but his wife Livia (Laura Harring of Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out!, General Hospital, Sunset Beach, Mulholland Drive, John Q, Loco Love, Walkout and The Shield) wants Castle's whole bloodline wiped out.

I told you to NEVER bring up Wild Hogs again!

During the daylight's celebration six gunmen proceed to wipe out the extended family with Castle and his father Frank Senior (Roy Scheider of The French Connection, The Outside Man, Jaws, All That Jazz, Blue Thunder, 2010, The Russia House, Romeo Is Bleeding and SeaQuest 2032) manage to give as well as get but all for not as the Castles seem to be gone...  all but Frank Jr.

Allowed to heal and re-cooperate, Frank proceeds to arm up and go hunting for those men responsible for his family's annihilation.  Making his way to a cruddy apartment in Tampa of the ask me no questions just pay the rent variety he prepares for his one man war on the Saints.  Inhabiting the complex is Spacker Dave (Ben Foster of Flash Forward, Bang Bang You're Dead, Six Feet Under, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Mechanic and 360) Bumpo (The late comedian/actor John Pinette of Vinnie & Bobby, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, John Pinette: I Say Nay Nay, Just for Laughs and John Pinette: Still Hungry) and waitress Joan (Rebecca Romijn of Just Shoot Me!, X-Men, Rollerball, Femme Fatale,  X-2, Ugly Betty, King & Maxwell and The Pro) all curious about their broody new neighbor but mind their own business overall.

Castle abducts a low ranking member of the Saints organization who spills all the pertinent details about them.  Their habits, hobbies and lifestyles.  Castle proceeds to weedwack his way to the top putting Saint on edge with his business deals and home.

A few bits of trivia about the film now.  Thomas Jane trained 7 months with the Navy SEALS and gained about 20 pounds of muscle in the process.   With the supervision of a trainer Jane worked out two hours a day weight lifting and doing cardio training, more health shakes than he ever wanted and then had to learn multiple firearms, blades and even a bow.

The earrings Howard Saint gave his wife were not props but actual Harry Winston diamonds valued at $1 million dollars.  Hell of a product placement.    This is one of the first Marvel Comics movies to recieve an R rating since Blade.  C'mon people, they're dark characters for crying out loud.  Don't let the little ones watch it unless you think they can handle it.

Think the curls have been helping my arms out.