Dan M
Reviewer

      John Travolta is quite possibly the best actor in this movie. That has to be repeated because some will simply not believe it—John Travolta gives the best performance in this film.
 
     It’s hard to believe a film with such potential can fall so hard on its face. Potential: a story centering on the way people deal with the untimely death of family members. Disappointment: the potential turning into mind numbing, high body count crap. These are the two sides to Lion’s Gate Film’s new project “The Punisher.”
 
      Frank Castle (Thomas Jane of “61*” fame) is a retired FBI agent who, while on his last mission, accidentally kills the son of the chief mafia boss in Tampa, Howard Saint (Travolta). Saint retaliates by giving in to his wife’s demand and murdering Castle’s entire family. Saint does not just kill Castle’s wife and son, but he also kills his father, mother, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. Five months after his family is dead, and he himself is shot, Castle returns to reap vengeance upon those who destroyed his life.
 
      “The Punisher” begins with a very intriguing premise: reaction to tragedy. When Saint finds out his son was killed, he nearly collapses while his wife stumbles and bursts into tears. The funeral scene that follows it shows a somber Travolta asking for revenge. It’s strange to see a villain act so human. As everyone should have learned from “Unbreakable”, comic book villains are supposed to be overtly evil. All one needs to do is look at “X-Men”, “Batman”, or, as painful as it is, “Daredevil” to see the difference. When Saint’s family is killed, it’s shown not as a heinous act, but rather as a grieving man making a decision to put the wrong things right.
 
      Castle is the same way, up to a point. At the beginning of his rampage, he’s shown drinking—although chugging may be a better description— a bottle of Wild Turkey. He’s trying to drown the memories and screams of his dead family, but he knows he must avenge them. Not even his neighbors or former agents at the FBI will be able to stop him. He’s reached a point where his grief demands more than justice, but death. When he proceeds past that point, that’s where everything changes.
 
      There’s an exact moment when the shift comes. In a scene in a diner, a Johnny Cash look-alike walks in, plays a little country tune about death, and tells Castle, “I’ll be playing that song at your funeral.” From then on, don’t expect anything of substance, and, in all honesty, how can one with people uttering lines like “You’ve been punished.”? With a body count close to fifty, the film falls apart frame by frame as the movie progresses. Not even bit parts played by Rebecca Romijin-Stamos or Kevin Nash (WWE wrestler, former NWO man) could spark any interest in this watered-down production.
 
      It’s hard to say what was the bigger disappointment: that the first half of the movie was pretty damn good, or that Travolta gives a decent performance in a movie that wastes his talent. With more explosions than “Rambo III”, and an actor whose performance is only slightly better than Dolph Lundgren in the original, “The Punisher” is probably best enjoyed by those looking to get away for two hours, action junkies, or fifteen-year-old boys. In other words, go only if it’s the only thing playing. But, considering what else is out, just avoid it all together.