Will It Be Punished w/a RAZZIE??

Despite the positive tones of the two reviews, I still can't see this film being especially good. At best, it can be seen as a guilty pleasure, which are the types of films Luke Y. Thompson regularly takes delight in, but personally, I rarely have that much fun with the over-the-top, sensationalized spectacle being praised here. Faraci even goes as far as to compare Punisher with the latest Rambo feature, praising both films in the process. It's meant as an endorsement, but in my mind, that comparison was damning. The entertainment supplied by this film will come in the form of instantly gratifying violent acts against unwaveringly villainous enemies. I didn't like the way Rambo did it, and I'm not expecting to like it any more here. That kind of entertainment is cute, but only goes so far.

I am glad to read the positive notes on Dominic West's performance, as he is an actor whose screen presence I enjoy. However, it still isn't enough for me to expect much from this film.

I guess I can say that the two reviews suggest that the film accomplishes what it sets out to do: be a satisfyingly violent spectacle. It's not my cup of tea, but it's a success of sorts.

I know. I timed it too early. By the way, there were a staunch number of defenders of the film who did not take to kindly to a review on ComingSoon.com. A sample, if you will.


Posted by: Hughezy on December 3, 2008 at 12:20:54

i couldn't care less, i still want to see this film. NO ONE goes to see these types of action films for logic. this critic is just a film snob.

these films are simply there for popcorn fun.


Posted by: spideyco21 on December 3, 2008 at 15:43:52

What the %^&* is this reviewer talking about.... "violence that redefines excessive"????? This is a punisher movie azzhole. The punisher is supposed to be dry and violent. As long as this punisher doesn't string people up and tickle them with popsickles I'll be happy.


Posted by: movie_mike on December 3, 2008 at 16:09:43

Despite the negative review, I'm still hopefully. Devin, over at CHUD, who NEVER has anything positive to say about anything EVER gave this film an 8.5 and another reviewer there (I think Russ) gave it an 8. So with that said, I'm still hoping for good things - maybe like a stylized version of Rambo.

Truth be told though, Tony Scott did the perfect version of the Punisher. It was called Man On Fire. Had you thrown a skull on Denzel's chest, it would've been sweet. (More figurative than literal people) Anyway, this film will still get my $10 this weekend...


Posted by: Jonathon Knight on December 3, 2008 at 16:13:33

Your view on the violence of the film proves you were not the right person to watch and review this film.

A Punisher film is supposed to be incredibly violent.

Do not review movies like this ever again. You're not in the right audience.


Posted by: Concrete Renegade on December 3, 2008 at 16:19:19

critics need to stop reviewing movies like they're all made with the intention of winning oscars. some movies are simply made for entertainment, and should be reviewed on that basis. i remember an ain't it cool review of 300 that said something along the lines of "saying you go to a movie like this for the intricate plot lines and acting is like saying you go to Hooters for the wings." i don't care about the plot because i'm more interested in going to a movie like this to see the punisher kill people in the same way he does in the MAX comics... which this critic has clearly never read.
it's also kind of insulting to say that people who follow the punisher comics are "low brow," but whatever


Posted by: Punisher 04 on December 3, 2008 at 16:28:38

This reviewer should be Punished for being a pansy! I'm still watching it, because it looks like it kicks ass and that's all that matters!


Posted by: Hellboy on December 3, 2008 at 16:33:47

Edward Douglas likes watching the Notebook, stick to reviewing chick flicks girly man! This Punisher movie is going to kick ass!


Posted by: Carlitos on December 3, 2008 at 16:57:18

does this guy know wat action thriller means???? So, the grittier the violence the crappier the movie??? this guy's an idiot... im still watching the movie.


Posted by: meso soup on December 3, 2008 at 16:57:44

Next reviewer please..... someone with a little more taste.....


Posted by: Jeffrey on December 3, 2008 at 16:57:54

I found this review enjoyable up until the following self-righteous remark made about the film's violence: "All of it goes completely above and beyond what is necessary and what anybody but the sickest individuals might want to watch for any extended period of time." Many people enjoy over the top, cinematic violence. That does NOT mean they are sick, because the violence is not only fake, but often exaggerated to the point of being completely unrealistic (as in Kill Bill for instance), or even nonsensical. I recall Rosario Dawson speaking in an interview once about how she loves gore fests. I doubt that means she's also a fan of snuff films or terrorist hosted beheading.


Posted by: Punisher75 on December 3, 2008 at 17:04:01

What a ****in ****! I know several hardcore Punisher fans that got to go the the premiere and they loved it...this asshat makes it clear as day he has never read Ennis' MAX Punisher comics...which have hardly any humor at all...thanks for calling a whole group of fans low brow you snotty pr!ck!


Posted by: K Love on December 3, 2008 at 17:12:01

This is a terrible review... we saw the movie at Monday night's premiere, and it turned out to be a tremendous film. It's going to make bank and it deserves to.

The reviewer would seriously have to be retarded to laugh at the "don't die on me" scene, let alone the scene that briefly recaps Castle's origin that remains 100% true to the comics this time around. I will probably ***** slap the next person who tries to pick on the acting, this is by far the best Punisher we've gotten... no inappropriate grins, no slurred speech. Dominic West's Jigsaw is extremely "Italian New Yorker" and it comes off great... it doesn't stop him from being a mean son of a ***** with one of the biggest evil streaks we've seen in ages. The Joker may have been dark, but there weren't any kids involved in his cruelty.

If you don't think the Punisher is a serious character, just from knowing his origin and what he does with his life... I can't help you. You are doomed to never understand.


Posted by: Chris on December 3, 2008 at 17:23:12

Wow...I feel bad for Mr. Douglas up there. It seems to me lately that your reviews have not been appreciated at all. Everyone is saying that you are a snob and give action or adult comedy movies a bad rap...AND insult viewers in the process. Well, I can see why you may think this movie was terrible: the acting looks terrible, the trailers were not very thrilling, and the violence doesn't hold back. I think you need to understand that you should give your opinion, but then state that this is no "Oscar" movie and if you want a film that will entertain based on violence and action, then this is that film. You shouldn't insult those who come to this site for reviews and opinions and those who will likely go see the film- that's just bad business. If you are into artsy movies that's fine, but if you can never say anything good at all about all films, well, that's just terrible reviewing. Surely you thought something was good about, say, The English Patient (like cinematography), even though I thought it was the most boring, stupid movie ever made but yet it won a bunch of Oscars. I'm still going to give credit where credit is due...Lighten up a little. If it's not your cup of tea then you should not be reviewing these types of films with that kind of personal bias.


Posted by: Frank on December 3, 2008 at 17:54:09

Thank you for an honest review, Edward. I, unlike some on here, realize your desire for the films you see to have something more to them than the rest of the mindless bunch.

And I have my own guilty pleasure movies but they at least had something to them other than the load of crap that Scott Chitwood constantly approves of. Hell, he gave S.W.A.T. of all movies a 9.5!!!

I trust only you Edward. And Ebert occasionally.

Other than that, Im surprised as well because I loveddd Lexi Alexander's Greenstreet Hooligans.


Posted by: GammaBob on December 3, 2008 at 18:24:37

This guy has obvioulsy never read any other of Ennis' Punisher run but the Welcome Back Frank trade. "the humor of Garth Ennis, whose writing made his run on the character's book such a rich source of material for the movie." I just finished reading the Max series from #1 to present, and trust me there is NOTHING humorous about Ennis's run there, it was some pretty dark, bleak, violent, and gory stuff(which surprise, surprise is what the movie is based on, and *gasp* is what the movie is like, imagine that). The only really funny thing about the Max series was Barracuda, and his character's not in this. This guy obviously has no clue what the Punisher is all about. This movie isn't gonna be Iron Man, it's not gonna be some kiddie crapfest with more CG than substance. He's obviously some dipsh_t in his teens or early twenties who doesn't appreciate any action movie released before 2000. Otherwise he'd realize that his saying it's a throwback to previous decades' action films actually seems more of a compliment than an insult. There has been practically NO good action flicks in the past 10 years except for oldschool stuff, made in an oldschool style by oldschool directors. And dissing Stevenson for being too serious?? Are you f'n kidding me?? You DO realize that the Punisher is a serious character right? He's not gonna be wisecracking left right and centre like peter freakin' parker or spouting one liners.

And as far as it not having realism? Ummm...it's a comic book movie, I don't go see a comic book movie for realism, I'll watch the friggin news if I want realism, the point of movies and comics is to escape from reality. TDK had too much realism for realism for my liking, if I want realism I'll watch Platoon, The Departed or something along those lines. I don't go see a Batman movie for realism. I liked Batman Begins but I found TDK was trying way too hard to NOT be a comic book movie.

And I knew this was gonna happen but the comparisons to Ledger's Joker?? Any reviewer worth a damn would have done his homework and would know that this movie was more or less finished production before anyone had even caught a climpse of Ledger as the Joker, Jigsaw's character and appearance in PWZ was already set in stone, there was absolutely no influence by Ledger's Joker.

This idiot needs to get a clue next time before reviewing a movie. Or at least not bother reviewing it if he goes in knowing he's gonna hate it. This guy obviously just doesn't like violent action movies. May as well try and get an 8 year old girl to give an impartial review of something like Hostel.


Posted by: Invasian on December 3, 2008 at 18:36:31

Clearly the reviewer hasn't bothered to read any source material, perhaps the MAX comics exceeded his pre-requisite mental capacity or even went over his standards for what he deems "good taste" in "extreme violence" ...wow...just saying that bends my own mind...., but hey had he read any of it, he'd know exploding faces and castrated limbs are all in a days work for Mr Castle a-la max style,...you need to remember folks, the most violent movie Mr Douglas has problemy ever reviewed was the horrible violent sequence at the end of "Old Yeller"...

Perhaps a review on the on the-soon-to-be-never-released-movie The Notebook 2: Lovers Quarrel would be more in order. Hell you could even do the script i'm almost sure of that....


Posted by: Punisher75 on December 3, 2008 at 18:37:18

Well said GammaBob ! I couldn't agree more.


Posted by: GammaBob on December 3, 2008 at 19:04:29

I honestly think comingsoon should remove this review and maybe have someone impartial review it.(and someone who won't take it upon himself to insult the people taking the time to visit the site and read the review). Even if it's a bad review that's fine, so long as it's an honest, well thought out review by someone for whom anything over PG-13 isn't considered "going too far" or in "bad taste".

Not liking a particular genre of movie is fine, but just describing why you personally don't like that genre is not a good review IMO. Revewing a movie based on an extremely violent character and saying it sucks because it's extremely violent just doesn't cut it.

I may as well say I don't like a particular Pixar movie because it was animated and aimed at a younger audience and call that a review.

Or I could say I don't like a particular slasher flick because there was too much sex, weed smoking, nudity and teenagers getting killed, hey look at me, I just reviewed a movie! Put me on your payroll!

Even Ebert gave The Devil's Rejects thumbs up, while he admitted he didn't particularly enjoy watching it because he is not a fan of that genre he did admit that the film accomplished what it set out to do, which was be an exploitation flick aimed to shock and disturb viewers. He also gave Beavis and Butthead Do America thumbs up, I seriously doubt that Roger Ebert is a huge Beavis and Butthead fan, but he knew what kind of audience would see this movie and judged it based on whether or not that particular audience would enjoy it. And in both cases he had enough respect for his viewers and readers to not take it upon himself to practically call anyone who does like those genres a bunch of degenerates. Now THAT'S how you give an honest, impartial review.

Sorry if I'm ranting but these kind of ignorant "reviewers" (In the case of one Mr. Edward Douglas, I use that term very loosely) really get to me.


Posted by: Robocop21 on December 3, 2008 at 19:30:37

Just tell, do you hate Rambo, cuz if u do I definetly buying a ticket to PWZ


Posted by: GammaBob on December 3, 2008 at 19:43:39

@ Robocop21

couldn't find any reviews by him for Rambo but judging from this lame ass review it's pretty clear it would have been too much for him.

BTW, Just watched Robocop again recently, another "excessively" violent action movie, but great all the same!


Posted by: Trent Gunner on December 3, 2008 at 19:58:40

Edward Douglas, I don't care what anyone says, right now you are my hero. As a die-hard Punisher fan, this movie represented everything I DIDN'T want in a Punisher film. Seeing your score alone has brightened my day. Thank you!

And to those who I know will rip me apart for what I said...say what you want, I respect your opinion.


Posted by: J on December 3, 2008 at 20:02:55

Guys stop hating we haven't seen the movie, I am hoping it is good but I still think it could be bad. One thing I think it is fair to dissagree on if you haven't seen the movie is EDWARD calling Ray Stevenson and Dominic West D-ACTORS. EDWARD, have you seen THE WIRE which is an amazing show and Domic West was great in it and he was a good villain in 300. Also Ray Stevenson was great in Rome so he can be good. Maybe they are bad in this movie but don't say D actors, because even A-Listers are bad some times. The movie seems to really be just actors are B and C actors because they are not well know.


Posted by: Blingley on December 3, 2008 at 20:31:26

PUNISHER WILL BE INSANE. CAN'T WAIT.


Posted by: hiruu on December 3, 2008 at 21:29:09

Wow...I didn't expect a score THAT low....I mean...come-on, they had to previous film to try and benchmark this one by!


Posted by: Bugs on December 3, 2008 at 21:40:00

All I know is that I've been waiting for Castle to show up for a long time. Gotta admit that I kinda liked Dolph's Punisher. And after seeing Jane's, now I bloody ADORE it. But now. Finally. Castle.
I'm sure there'll be lots I don't like about this flick. But when I saw the first trailer, my faith in God was renewed and when I saw the Red-band, I fell to my knees and wept for Joy. Because I saw Castle.
The total and cumulative screen-time I've seen adds up to 'round 5mins. Even if the OTHER 142 are absolute ****e, it still DEMOLISHES any comparison between the 1st two flicks. I can testify to that with only 5mins to ****yse.
That's how much I see Castle.
If we do not support this flick, they'll shelve the idea for ANOTHER 10 years til some goofball comes along to give it another shot with a DIFFERENT guy again.
Do not let Ray Stevenson down. If this flick works, they might make another.
THEN, we can work out the kinks; discuss the "problems" a different day.
Nevermind this reviewer. Instead, rejoice that he will NEVER understand the character as we do. Savor the visceral pleasure The Punisher gives us and horde as much as you can. The rest are suckers.
Unless I'm mistaken, of course.
And y'all DON'T see Castle?
Finally?
Peace

I never posted here because I really don't care about this movie...I haven't seen the first nor am I interested.

Originally posted by MiguelAntilsu I got a sneak peek of this movie on ESPN earlier and I heard someone say, "somebody has to punish the corrupt."  Does that remind you of anyone on this forum?

Anyone "corrupt" on this forum? Nope, just a bunch of guys talking about bad movies. No one paying anyone off to give a bad movie a good review or paying a high-profile award show to give a certain celebrity an award he/she shouldn't deserve via Pia Z.

Hmm, based on that confession, it sounds more like the only corrupt person here is you... 

Miguel's intentions aside, Yahoo made a list of the Worst Comic Movie Adaptations. Sure enough, it's full of Razzie favorites.

http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/collections/gallery/1299/the- worst-comic-book-movie-adaptations#photo0

God help us if The First Avenger: Captain America turns out to be a piece of sh*t. Admittedly, the casting call has turned out to be hit (Channing Tatum; all right, he ain't the best actor in the world, and he's got another franchise - G.I. Joe - but Marvel at least has the idea - get an actor in his 20's to portray a soon-to-be-soldier in his 20's) or miss (Leonardo DiCaprio, great actor aside, does not have the voice or the stature). But Joe Johnson has an affinity for films set back in the day (October Sky), so maybe he can get the job done.

I'm not too certain about the rest of the films, so I can't defend them. Blade: Trinity didn't have enough of its title character (that was the film Wesley Snipes fought over), Catwoman rightfully sucked as everyone said it would, Elektra came off like an Uwe Boll film at times (i.e. nothing made sense), Ghost Rider - despite Nicolas Cage's loopy sense of humor and Sam Elliott's always reliable line readings - just didn't work for me that much, Red Sonja is getting another go around courtesy of director Robert Rodriguez and it starts wife Rose McGowan as Sonja, and Tank Girl was an irreverent take on females-kicking-ass films and it's based on a British comic book. And, oh yeah, with awful - and obvious use of - special effects and an inability to tell a coherent story, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman was bad.

My opinions:

20. Catwoman - Should have been #1 based solely on the fact that out of all these comic book movies, it had NOTHING to do with the source material it was "adapted" from.

19. Batman & Robin - Should #2 on the this list, and should have swept the 1997 Razzies, but was saved by "The Postman", I believe. How serious can you take a movie when every other line of dialog is a bad pun? Answer: you don't.

18. The Punisher - Should have listed all three movies here.

17. Superman IV - I all but forgot Superman by the time this movie came out, because the "Batman" movie series took off around this time.

16. Supergirl - Not much you can do with a teenage, female version of Superman. You have no choice but to do a "Gossip Girl ... with superpowers" thing.

15. Judge Dredd - "I am the law!". That seriously is the ONLY thing I remember about this movie. I take it that is a good thing?

14. Tank Girl - Saw it, then forgot about it an hour later.

13. Captain America (1990) - Yes, there will be a 2011 "Captain America" movie, as well as a "Thor" movie. This is all a set-up for IronMan, Hulk, Thor, and the Captain to team up in a crossover "Avengers" movie. Stan Lee gave Marvel Studios his blessing for Will Smith to star as the Captain. That's a bit of a twist I can live with.

12. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Fun guilty pleasure and nothing more. It might be Sean Connery's last movie. It's a shame for him to leave on such a down note.

11. Howard the Duck - "I'd rather not talk about it." You took the words right out of George Lucas' mouth. A window into the future of the god-awful "Star Wars" prequels.

10. Steel - "What the bloody hell was that?"  An excuse for Shaq to be in a movie. Should be #3 on this list.

9. Barb Wire - "Pamela, you suck!" Tommy Lee and Kid Rock will agree with you.

8. The Crow: City of Angels - The first one was okay, it didn't need to become the direct to DVD movie series that it is now.

7. Spawn - John Leguizamo carried this movie on his back, not that there was much for him to work with.

6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II - "What the bloody hell was that?" Another one of my favorite guilty pleasures. This should be more like #20. Vanilla Ice is to blame for it being this close to the Top 5.

5. Blade: Trinity - Like Leguizamo in "Spawn", Biel's looks and Reynolds' wise-ass remarks carried this movie ... and that wasn't enough to make it good.

4. Elektra - "About as bad as the actress with a similar last name." That's true! Poor Garner and that binding contract she signed when she did "DareDevil" (I'm surprised that isn't on this list).

3. Ghost Rider - The most light-hearted movie about the devil and demons ever made. Barely any thought was put into this movie. Sure, Ghost Rider is among Marvel's Z-List titles, but even he deserves better than this.

2. Red Sonja - Yes, there will be a 2009 remake. With Robert Rodriguez - the man behind "Sin City", the most faithful comic book adapatation to date - backing it, at least it will be more loyal to its source material than Nelson's version. That doesn't really mean it will be a good movie though.

1. Son of the Mask - "It probably deserved Worst Picture more than "Dirty Love" did." "Alone In The Dark" deserved it even more. This was the first sign that sequels to Jim Carrey movies that don't star Jum Carrey are a bad idea. Although I wouldn't label it the worst comic book movie ever ... just a bad movie, period.

Oh yay! Tatum as both Captain America AND Duke from GI Joe. Whatever did we do to deserve this? What's next, Brenda Song as Wonder Woman? Oh wait, DC Comics is owned by Warners, not Disney.

Never mind.