This week we got to watch the movie The Punisher. Which is a movie based on a comic about a man who has everything taken from him and turns into a vigilante/killer. Or as I like to call this movie, Thomas Jane put your damn shirt on! But seriously, will someone please buy the poor man a shirt? He clearly needs one as he spends a good portion of this film lacking one.
The official trailer.
Okay, so the first thing I want to talk about this movie is the purported psycho in this film. Which I am guessing is supposed to be Howard Saint. Which is problematic for me because while he is a total ass, and jealous mess of person he's not truly a psychopath. . . he's not even a psychotic (and yes there is a difference). Psychotic: A mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality (example: The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland) . Psychopath: (1) a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior or (2) an unstable and aggressive person (Cromer). The later also involves emotional, behavioral, mood, and speech issues. In my opinion, he doesn't quite fit that. You can't really place him under the psycho's banner. So we are left with Castle aka the Punisher. He doesn't really fit that either. I mean if we say that Castle is a psycho then so too are all superheroes. That would make even Superman a psycho because goodie-two-shoes or not he engages in violence. It would also make anyone who participates in violent sports, or anyone whose ever had a fight of any kind would then be considered a psycho. What we see in this film is situational and should be viewed as such. It's not an indicator of being a psycho. So I'm left unsure why this film was included in the Psychos class.
Okay, psychology background rant over. The second thing I wanted to talk about in this film is the actors in it. One I rather enjoy and one that I have a hard time buying as. . .well, there's no easy way to say it so I'll just say it. . . I have a hard time buying the other as a human being. While I genuinely enjoy Thomas Jane I have to say I prefer his other work over this. Yes, I know I said he needs to keep his shirt on. And I still stand with that statement. I like him as an actor, but you know. . . shirts they exist for a reason. Learn it. Live it. Love it. So I like Thomas Jane, but I'm just meh, about this film. I much prefer him in movies like The Mist, Dream Catcher, or The Sweetest Thing. Then there is John Travolta. . . yeah. . . Not a fan. I love movies, even bad movies. I own a bunch of them. Guess how many have John Travolta in them. Zero. Because he's just not good. I don't buy him in this or any other movie I have seen him in. They could have done better casting for a super villain.
Honestly, the only good part of this movie for me is when the body count began to rise. And yes I know I'm bloodthirsty one. But I can't help it. I disliked the film so when all the crap characters and actors I was not fond of got wiped from the screen it was a blessing. I didn't hate the movie. I mean it did have Thomas Jane in it and he did what he could, it just wasn't enough to save this film for me. I've seen it maybe eleven times now and it's still just meh. If I never saw it again I would not be heartbroken about it.
Works Cited
Comer, Ronald J. Abnormal Psychology. New York City: Worth Publishing, 2007. Text Book.
The Punisher. Dir. Jonathan Hensleigh. Perf. Thomas Jane. 2004. DVD.
I think The Punisher/Frank Castle and Howard Saint were supposed to be the psychos here, but the movie did a poor job of getting the point across. Maybe if it were done well we could see that.
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