The History Of 'The Punisher' In Live-Action Projects
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Way back when, in 1980-something I was first introduced to the world of Frank Castle and his alter-ego The Punisher through the medium of Marvel comics. There were many glorious crossovers with Daredevil and Spider-Man and, as a bonus, I had my first introduction to Moon Knight.
Now in those days, there was no Marvel movie franchise as such, and there was nothing like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whilst there might be the odd movie or live-action TV show, fans were starved when it came to Marvel having a broad reach with its characters on large and small screens. Well-known statement characters such as Captain America, Hulk, and Spider-Man did get a look in.
Everything changed in 1989 when Frank Castle made his live-action debut.
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‘The Punisher’ (1989) - Movie
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When criminals murder Frank Castle's family, he wages war on crime as a vigilante assassin known only as The Punisher.
Dolph Lundgren was centre stage in the lead role in The Punisher movie from New Line Pictures. The Punisher (1989) would never win any awards or create a movie legacy. It did, however, get Frank Castle and The Punisher out into the mainstream. It made me very happy at the time but the critics were less than impressed, Looking back at it today, it hasn’t aged particularly well, it carries a clichéd 80s action movie vibe that was the blueprint at the time but feels dated now.
What it did get right was carrying the whole vigilante ethic of Frank Castle as The Punisher and wasn’t frightened of showing the violence that this brought about. There was certainly no lack of deaths in this one, to the point of ridiculousness. Despite starting well in its international release it never actually made it to cinemas in the United States.
It is certainly harder to watch than it used to be, just for the dated cinematography and style but The Punisher (1989) is certainly not the worst movie in the world. It is, however, most certainly the worst of all the live-action representations of The Punisher. Its biggest sin was the lack of the Punisher’s infamous skull shirt. You can have great fun playing “Count the Ninja” though!
Rating: 5/10
‘The Punisher’ (2004) - Movie
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An undercover FBI agent becomes a vigilante and sets out to unleash his wrath upon the corrupt businessman who slaughtered his entire family at a reunion.
After a rocky start with the 1989 movie things kicked into gear a bit more with Lionsgate’s The Punisher (2004). Thomas Jane (billed as Tom Jane) led the movie as Frank Castle/The Punisher with John Travolta being brought in to play the antagonist Howard Saint who is seeking revenge following the death of his son. This movie is dark and violent with some good acting that helps carry things along.
This could have been the start of something great for The Punisher as it didn’t completely bomb at the box office. The less-than-stellar reviews didn’t help and the dark tone throughout was probably hard going for some who might have preferred some lighter mood segments that they might have expected from a ’superhero’ movie.
Rating: 8/10 (it got an extra point for the animated sequence at the start)
‘Punisher: War Zone’ (2008) - Movie
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Frank Castle, known as the Punisher, ruthlessly demolishes organized crime, but it starts an even bigger war.
Lionsgate came back for round two with Punisher: War Zone. The comics were always violent as one might expect from a vigilante-style character. Punisher: War Zone upped the ante on previous outings and went hardcore in both the violence and gore stakes from the off. Ray Stevenson steps into the Frank Castle/The Punisher role and for me was a better representation of the character when compared with Lundgren and Jane.
The introduction of Jigsaw as the antagonist was great for fans of the comics. The use of heavy metal in the soundtrack was a bold choice but really worked and helped carry emotional weight when used.
Sadly this one completely flopped at the box office which killed any chance of another sequel. Luckily for Marvel Studios, they had also released Iron Man the same year kicking off the unstoppable juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Rating: 7/10
‘Daredevil’ (2016) - Netflix TV Series
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The Netflix Marvel TV shows were generally well-received and DaredevilI season 2 saw the introduction of Jon Bernthal taking up the mantle of Frank Castle/The Punisher albeit in a small supporting role. After eight years away from live-action this was an excellent return to the screen Thanks to the soon-to-be-released Echo series it looks like Daredevil is now considered MCU canon.
Rating: 8/10
‘The Punisher’ (2017-2019) - Netflix TV Series
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After he gets revenge on those who murdered his family, aimless Marine veteran Frank Castle finds a new meaning in life as a vigilante known as "The Punisher”.
This is where everything took off and we finally got to see Frank Castle/The Punisher in his own TV spin-off show following on from the Daredevil cameo. It carried that very dark gritty edge and violence that was translated perfectly from the comics. It is easy to make a movie for the adult market in this genre but much harder to take that and make it into a legitimate TV show.
Jon Bernthal IS Frank Castle/The Punisher. The Punisher (2017-2019) has now set the definition and benchmark for what Frank Castle/The Punisher should be
Rating: 9/10
It has been a very mixed bag over the years and the reviews have not been kind. Lack of consistency, and proper involvement from Marvel, has been an issue with the first three movies but fans of Frank Castle/The Punisher certainly saw redemption when it came to the live-action TV portrayal thanks to Marvel/Netflix.
Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of the Frank Castle/The Punisher character is certainly the best we have seen so far. This role brought him nominations for Best Actor In Television at the 44th Saturn Awards and Best Actor In Streaming Presentation at the 45th Saturn Awards.
Fans of Frank Castle/The Punisher will be pleased to know that Jon Bernthal is already signed up to reprise the role in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again show due to be released in 2024 on Disney+.
I don’t believe that we are likely to see another movie featuring The Punisher although he could have a cameo but if we continue with Jon Bernthal in the role long-term then I am fine with that as long as we keep getting more content.
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