I swear I am not trying to rain hell down on comic book movie adaptations. Really I’m not. And this new Punisher movie with Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle has been one of the most anticipated viewings on my list. I mean this had Titus Pullo in it for fuck’s sake! But alas, it was not to be. Stevenson does a fine job in which he barely speaks, likely trying to hide his British accent, but hey The Punisher isn’t known for his witty repartee. No, he’s known for kicking some serious ass, which Ray Stevenson does in spades.
No the problem is the villain. Dominic West was brought in to play the gangster Billy Russotti, ok fighting gangsters so long as they’re fighting i suppose. But then they actually attempted to turn Russotti into the Jigsaw. What the fuck? The result is a bad mix between Jack Nicholson as the Joker in Batman and a second rate demon from a Hellraiser movie.
Now think back like five years ago. Thomas Jane was Frank Castle in The Punisher and it was OK, you know? Ray Stevenson would have begun filing Rome at about this time as well. Can you believe that The Thomas Jane version would have been the better movie? The one with Travolta in it?!?
Yeah scary thought isn’t it.
