The Punisher of The One With The Dude Who Beat Up Rocky!

So last week all my friends were subject to punishment! Well here's the second installment as promised. You might ask why am I reviewing what must essentially be the same movie, but here's where you are wrong. This movie was made in 1989 and was not a origin story as most of our latest comic book movies seem to think they must be. This movie take place 5 years after the gangland "execution" of Frank Castle and his family, leaving only Frank alive, only no one knows this. Thus begins a systematic hunting and killing of every major crime boss and his lackeys. This leaves the city ripe for the Yakuza...yes I said Yakuza...to move in and attempt a coup. Frank is content to allow the two sides to battle it out and then pick off the winners, until the Yakuza take it one step too far. But, sorry can't tell you more...you know the rules...this is not the spoilerific episode.

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this film! It is full of such 80's trash, sleaze, and "violence" it's hilarious. If you watch close there are very few on screen kills compared to the two later versions of this film, not to say that there aren't a lot. I feel this has a lot to do with the character development of the Punisher thru the 80's, 90's, and 2000's. When this particular Punisher was popular...he didn't always kill. In fact he had "mercy bullets" which did not kill the victim, he spent a lot of time blowing up things, and not a lot of on panel killing. Then comes the 90's...comics have to get grittier to compete with titles like Spawn, and Youngblood....hence the Thomas Jane version..this was more brutal and dark. If you question that, watch the family death scene in the first 30 minutes and then we'll talk. Then comes the 2000's, violence and dystopia was the order of the day. Heroes were killed left and right along with villains, granted they usually came back to life....it was in the 2000...2001 to be specific that Marvel came out with the Max line and you guessed it Punisher was one of it's main titles...this is what gave us that craptastic piece of crap that was "Punisher: War Zone"  Don't get me wrong ...love the Max line of comics..hated the movie.  My recommendation is to go out ...dig thru your bargain bins, check you second hand stores, but get you a copy of this. If you love cheesy 80's action this is the movie for you...c'mon Doplh Lundgren AND Louis Gossett Jr, and tons of stuff blowing up...oh and did I mention samurai and ninjas!!!!!



 

 

THE PUNISHER (1989)

Written by: Boaz Yakin

Directed by: Mark Goldblatt

Starring : Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett Jr.

Rated: R

Runtime: 89 minutes