The Punisher
Directed by	Jonathan Hensleigh
Produced by	Avi Arad Gale Anne Hurd
Written by	Jonathan Hensleigh Michael France
Starring	Thomas Jane John Travolta Rebecca Romijn Will Patton Ben Foster Roy Scheider Laura Harring
Music by	Carlo Siliotto
Cinematography	Conrad W. Hall
Editing by	Steven Kemper Jeff Gullo
Distributed by	Global: Columbia Pictures United States: Lions Gate Films
Release date(s)	April 16, 2004
Running time	Theatrical Cut: 124 min. Extended Cut: 140 min.
Language	English
Budget	$15,500,000[1]
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Punisher is a 2004 movie, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Thomas Jane as Frank Castle and John Travolta as Howard Saint, the money launderer who orders the death of Castle's entire family. The story and plot were mainly based on two Punisher comic book stories; “The Punisher: Year One” & “Welcome Back, Frank” along with scenes from other Punisher stories such as “Marvel Preview: Featuring The Punisher #2”, “The Punisher: War Zone” and “The Punisher War Journal.”^[2] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 406 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (511 × 755 pixel, file size: 58 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work depicted. ... Jonathan Hensleigh is one of the most prolific screenwriters in the action/adventure genre of films, he is noted for being an old school action screenwriter and director. ... Avi Arad (Hebrew: אבי ארד) is an Israeli-American businessman. ... Gale Anne Hurd (b. ... Jonathan Hensleigh is one of the most prolific screenwriters in the action/adventure genre of films, he is noted for being an old school action screenwriter and director. ... Micheal France is a screenplay writer and has written screenplays for popular comic book films such as Hulk, The Punisher and Fantastic Four. ... For the 15th century English Bishop of Norwich, see Thomas Jane (Bishop of Norwich). ... John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor, dancer, and singer, best known for his leading roles in films such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Pulp Fiction. ... Rebecca Alie Romijn (born November 6, 1972) is an American film and television actress and former fashion model. ... Will Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. ... For other persons of the same name, see Ben Foster. ... Roy Richard Scheider (born November 10, 1932 in Orange, New Jersey) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-nominated American actor. ... Laura Elena Harring (born March 3, 1964) is a Mexican American actress and former Miss USA (1985). ... Conrad Wynn Hall (born November 13, 1958 in Los Angeles) is the son of the deceased cinematographer, Conrad L. Hall. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Lions Gate Films. ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... This article is about the comic book company. ... This article is about the Marvel Comics character. ... For the 15th century English Bishop of Norwich, see Thomas Jane (Bishop of Norwich). ... This article is about the Marvel Comics character. ... John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor, dancer, and singer, best known for his leading roles in films such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Pulp Fiction. ... Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the identity, source and destination of the money in question. ... The Punisher, a 12-issue miniseries under the Marvel Knights imprint, is the fifth comic book series featuring the Marvel vigilante character known as The Punisher (Frank Castle). ... The Punisher War Zone is a comic book spin-off series for the Marvel Comics character The Punisher. ... The Punisher War Journal is a comic book spin-off series of The Punisher. ...

Plot

The film opens with an arms deal taking place at a port in Tampa. Bobby Saint and Micky Duka meet with their contact, Otto Krieg, to provide him with the payments, but at the last moment, the FBI intervenes, and in the ensuing confrontation, Bobby and Otto are shot dead, and Duka is taken to prison. However, it is then revealed that Otto Kreig is in fact FBI agent Frank Castle, who was undercover and wearing a bulletproof vest. Shortly thereafter, Castle celebrates a retirement party with his friends, and heads home.

Meanwhile, it transpires that Bobby Saint is the son of the ruthless and powerful mob boss, Howard Saint, who is inflamed by the death of his son and almost kills Duka (who was bailed out). Instead, Saint and his associate, Quentin Glass, bribe the FBI to provide them with confidential information about Otto Krieg, who brokered the arms deal, and find out his true identity. At Bobby's funeral, Saint learns that Castle is at a family reunion in Puerto Rico and will be heading for London, England soon. He requests that Castle be killed, but at the last moment, Saint's wife, Livia, demands that they murder Castle's entire family as well, in a twisted act of revenge.

At the reunion, Saint's cronies, Quentin Glass and John Saint (Bobby's twin) among them, kill everyone present. Castle and his father bring down scores of them, but Castle Sr. is eventually killed, and Castle is shot multiple times and left for dead on a pier, which Saint's men torch and destroy. Castle, however, does not die, but is blown away from the explosion, and nursed back to health by a witch doctor. That night, at Saint's club, the Saints drink a toast to their revenge.

Castle packs up his things from his home and takes refuge in an old house where three youngsters, Spacker Dave, Bumpo and Joan, live. There, he starts his own mission of revenge, especially after learning that the police and the FBI, even five months after his family's murder, have no intention of pursuing the men responsible, despite knowing they did it. In the process, Castle sabotages Saint's money laundering business and severs Saint's partnership with the Cuban Toro mobster Brothers, Mike and Joe, and starts tailing Livia and Glass, learning that Glass is in fact gay (which he hides from Saint under fear of execution), all thanks to information provided to him by Micky Duka, who hates the Saints and was convinced to help Castle.

Saint realises that Castle is alive, and sends two assassins to kill him. First is Harry "Heck" Thornton, whom Castle kills with a trick knife which he uses to slit Harry's throat. Second is the Russian, a behemoth who gives Castle a severe beating until he splashes the Russian's face with a steaming pot of a meal Bumpo was cooking, blinding him long enough for Castle to push him down the staircase and break his neck. Moment's later, Saint's men arrive, led by Glass and John. Dave, Joan and Bumpo hide Castle, and refuse to tell Glass where he is, despite Glass pulling Dave's piercings out with a pair of pliers.

That night, Castle prepares himself for battle, and manipulates Saint into believing that Glass and Livia were having an affair behind his back, by planting one of Livia's earrings on Glass' messed-up bed (which Castle himself had done). Saint, unaware that Glass was gay, and believing Livia (who is implied by dialogue to have been a prostitute before meeting Howard) to be capable of cheating on them, consequently kills them both, neither of them knowing why.

Castle then attacks Saint's club, where he wages a one-man war on Saint's entire crew, killing everyone inside, including John. Saint attempts to escape, but Castle catches up with him and shoots him fatally in the chest. As Saint dies, Castle reveals the evidence that Glass and Livia were not having an affair, but gives Saint little time to grieve, for he ties Saint to a running car, which goes into a bomb-laden car park, blowing countless cars up and killing Howard Saint once and for all.

His revenge taken, Castle decides that he will continue his mission to bring evil-doers to justice, known only as The Punisher.

Cast

Before actor Thomas Jane became the Punisher, director Jonathan Hensleigh and Avi Arad have said in many interviews that Jane was the first and only actor to be asked to play the title role. Jane initially turned down the role twice, as well as a part in the first X-Men movie and a few other comic book movies, the reason for that was because he did not see himself as a superhero actor. Jane said that when they asked him the second time to play the Punisher that what really got him interested in playing the part was when Arad sent Tim Bradstreet's artwork of the Punisher. After finding out what kind of character the Punisher was, he accepted. In addition to reading as many Punisher comics he could find to understand the character, Jane became a fan of the Punisher. Jane trained for 6 or 7 months with Navy SEALs and gained more than twenty pounds of muscle for the part. For the 15th century English Bishop of Norwich, see Thomas Jane (Bishop of Norwich). ... This article is about the Marvel Comics character. ... John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor, dancer, and singer, best known for his leading roles in films such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Pulp Fiction. ... Will Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. ... Rebecca Alie Romijn (born November 6, 1972) is an American film and television actress and former fashion model. ... For other persons of the same name, see Ben Foster. ... John Pinette (born March 23, 1964)[1] is an actor and stand-up comedian based in the United States. ... Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress. ... Carpinello with his wife Amy Acker at the premiere of Serenity in 2005. ... Laura Elena Harring (born March 3, 1964) is a Mexican American actress and former Miss USA (1985). ... Eddie Jemison is an American film and television actor. ... Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959[2] in Detroit, Michigan) is an American professional wrestler and actor. ... The Russian is Marvel Comics fictional villain created by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon to become an assassin during the Punishers relaunch in November 2000. ... Mark Collie (born January 18, 1956 in Waynesboro, Tennessee) is an American country singer/songwriter and occasional actor. ... Roy Richard Scheider (born November 10, 1932 in Orange, New Jersey) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-nominated American actor. ... Avi Arad (Hebrew: אבי ארד) is an Israeli-American businessman. ... X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based upon the fictional characters the X-Men. ... Tim Bradstreet (born February 16, 1967, in Cheverly, Maryland), is an artist and illustrator, best known for his work on comic books (covers and interiors), book covers, movie posters, roleplaying games and trading cards. ... SEALs in from the water. ...

Production

Before filming began, Hensleigh was not given the budget he wanted or needed from the studio. Hensleigh knew that most action pictures get a budget of around $64 million. He was only given a $15 million dollar budget for the movie.^[4] He was also only given 50 days to shoot the movie, which is half the number of days it takes to shoot most action pictures. Most of Hensleigh's original script had to be edited and re-written many times due to budget costs. According to the DVD commentary, the first scene in the movie would have been a battle set in (though not filmed in) Kuwait during the Gulf War and a subplot that involved Frank discovering a friend had sold him out to the Saint family to absolve a gambling debt was lost as a result of these budget cuts and rewrites.

The Punisher was filmed on location in Tampa, Florida. For inspiration, Hensleigh and cinematographer Conrad W. Hall looked at dozens of action movies from the 1960s and 1970s, such as the Dirty Harry series, The Getaway, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Godfather and Bonnie and Clyde.^[5] In an interview, Hensleigh also stated the film pays homage to Mad Max.^[6] Tampa redirects here. ... Dirty Harry is the name of a series of films and novels starring fictional San Francisco Police Department detective Dirty Harry Callahan, portrayed by Clint Eastwood. ... This article is about the 1972 film. ... For the album by Frankee, see The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (Frankee album). ... This article is about the 1972 film. ... Bonnie and Clyde is an Academy Award winning 1967 film about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the bank robbers who roamed the central United States during the Great Depression. ... For other uses, see Mad Max (disambiguation). ...

As stated above the story and plot were mainly based on two Punisher comic book stories; “Welcome Back, Frank” and “The Punisher: Year One” but before the film was released in theaters Jonathan Hensleigh was asked if the movie had been entirely based on “The Punisher: Year One” storyline. Jonathan Hensleigh stated: The Punisher, a 12-issue miniseries under the Marvel Knights imprint, is the fifth comic book series featuring the Marvel vigilante character known as The Punisher (Frank Castle). ...

During shooting of the film Lions Gate had purchased Artisan. In an interview with Jonathan Hensleigh, Hensleigh said that even though the movie is under Lions Gate, they had nothing to do with the film. Lions Gate never gave a green light for the film to be made. The film was still under Artisan Entertainment. For the novel, see Gone with the Wind. ... Artisan Entertainment was a privately held independent American movie studio that has been owned by Lions Gate Entertainment since 2003. ...

The character of Microchip was not included in the script because of director Jonathan Hensleigh's distaste for him. Hensleigh said: Linus Microchip Lieberman (often known as Micro) is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Universe. ...

Comic book writer Garth Ennis has also expressed displeasure towards Microchip. Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... This article is about the spy series. ... Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970 in Holywood, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the DC/Vertigo series Preacher, co-created with artist Steve Dillon. ...

Release and Reception

The Punisher opened in 2,649 theaters on April 16, 2004 and grossed $13,834,527 over it's opening weekend. It was the second highest grossing movie of the weekend behind Kill Bill Volume 2. The film has a domestic gross of $33,810,189 and a foreign gross of $20,889,916, giving it a worldwide total of $54,700,105. is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Kill Bill is the fourth feature film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino released in two parts: Volume 1 & Volume 2. ...

On its release on April 16, 2004, it was met with mixed reviews.The film holds a 28% rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 157 reviews.^[7] Many have defended the movie stating that compared to most comic book based movies, it is a well done throwback to the old school action movies of the 60s and 70s. Despite mixed reviews from fans of the comic, the movie did very well on DVD and video. is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc - see Etymology) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ...

Novelization

The novelization of the movie which has Jonathan Hensleigh's original script and screenplay and a mini comic book by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon that came with the DVD (the first and only DVD mini prequel comic book and only 10,000 produced) has it that Frank Castle fought in Iraq in the Gulf War (Frank was awarded the Bronze Star after the war), in Bosnia in the Bosnian War and was a member of the Delta Force, CTU (there is no relation to the Jack Bauer character that works for CTU on the TV series 24) and the FBI. The novel also has it that the setting of the Vietnam War, which is a big and important part of the Punisher’s past in the comic book, had to be replaced by having him in the Gulf War and as an undercover agent in the FBI. He spends months deep undercover surrounded by people who would simply blow his head off if he slipped up. The writer says that getting into character as these people were starting to taint Frank (this is also seen in the mini comic book) that he seemed to enjoy it too much when it came to killing the bad guys. Living on the wrong side of the law for a time, even if it wasn't for the job, is something else that explains his assuming the mantle of the Punisher. Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970 in Holywood, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the DC/Vertigo series Preacher, co-created with artist Steve Dillon. ... Steve Dillon is a British comic book artist. ... For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ... The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration and is the fourth highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service. ... This article is about the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Combatants Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Predominantly Bosniak) Army of Republika Srpska, Yugoslav Peoples Army, various paramilitary units from Serbia and Montenegro (Serbian) Croatian Defence Council, Croatian Army (Croatian) Commanders Alija Izetbegović (President of Bosnia and Herzegovina) Sefer Halilović (Army chief of staff 1992-1993) Rasim... 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action drama television series. ... Jack Bauer is the fictional protagonist of the American television series 24, in which he has trained and worked in various capacities as a government agent, including US Army Delta Force, LAPD SWAT, and finally the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) Los Angeles. ... 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action drama television series. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

DVD sales

The Punisher DVD was released on September 7, 2004 and sold nearly 1.8 million copies in its first five days and netted $10.8 million in rentals its first week out, making it number one in DVD sales. It then sold $18.7 million. Sales continued at a steady pace, ultimately topping 4 million units. During October, The Punisher DVD rentals were still in the top ten and various cable and satellite providers had started to offer The Punisher as a pay-per-view feature. Between worldwide movie box office and DVD sales, it grossed $115 million ($55 million worldwide + $60 million from DVD sales). It was reported in 2005 that along with other movies that the 2004 Punisher DVD commentary by Jonathan Hensleigh and “Making of the Movie” are used in some film classes to help beginning film directors get started since the film was a low budget movie. is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pay-per-view is the name given to a system by which television viewers can call and order events to be seen on TV and pay for the private telecast of that event to their homes later. ... USD redirects here. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Extended cut

An Extended Cut DVD was released on November 21, 2006 with 17 minutes of additional footage. Features also include a black and white stop motion animated scene, set in Kuwait based on and done by artist Tim Bradstreet, and a Punisher comic book gallery. An extended version of "In Time" by Mark Collie also appears in the closing credits of the extended cut DVD. is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tim Bradstreet (born February 16, 1967, in Cheverly, Maryland), is an artist and illustrator, best known for his work on comic books (covers and interiors), book covers, movie posters, roleplaying games and trading cards. ... Mark Collie (born January 18, 1956 in Waynesboro, Tennessee) is an American country singer/songwriter and occasional actor. ...

The Punisher was released on Blu-ray Disc on June 27, 2006. Blu-ray Disc (also known as Blu-ray or BD) is an optical disc storage media format. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Soundtrack

Main article: The Punisher: The Album

Awards and nominations (2005)

Won

• Prism Awards
  • Mark Chadwick was awarded a for Best Fire Stunt.

Nominated

• World Stunt Awards (Taurus Award)
  • Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman.
  • Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director.
  • Best Work with a Vehicle.

Sequel

Lions Gate Entertainment had greenlit a direct sequel to be made due to the strong performance the film had on DVD. However, the project lingered in development for over 3 years. Jonathan Hensleigh completed a first draft before pulling out and Thomas Jane pulled out of the project on May 15, 2007 due to creative differences.^[8] Lions Gate redirects here, for other meanings see Lions Gate (disambiguation)‎. Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, (usually renderred as Lionsgate), (NYSE: LGF) is an American entertainment company which originated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ... Jonathan Hensleigh is one of the most prolific screenwriters in the action/adventure genre of films, he is noted for being an old school action screenwriter and director. ... For the 15th century English Bishop of Norwich, see Thomas Jane (Bishop of Norwich). ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...

References

External links

• The Punisher Trailer
• The Punisher on Marvel.com
• The Punisher at Box Office Mojo
• The Punisher at the Internet Movie Database
• The Punisher at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Punisher hype at Superhero Hype!

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