Watched them back to back yesterday and it isn't even close. War Zone sucked so friggin' bad, the real punishment was trying to watch it all the way through. Had Jane not been a prick and come back for the sequel, I think this series could have taken off. It's a shame it got left with the Punisher starting on his mission and we never got to see it really get into it with Jane as Castle.
shareand whiniest crying-est Punisher, the effervescent Jane Thomas!
That's right, the guy with the magic fire hydrant!
It's only fitting that Jane Thomas would have a portable hydrant, as a gotta go somewhere !
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Watched them back to back yesterday and it isn't even close. War Zone sucked so friggin' bad, the real punishment was trying to watch it all the way through.
Finally watched this yesterday, it was on some cable channel last week so I recorded it for later viewing.
Let me first state that I'll watch damn near anything (except musicals, ugh). I've sat through lots of crap in my day, watched almost every Van Damme movie, plenty of made-for-TV sequels, even some of the lowest ranking films on the Tomato-meter.
I turned this movie off halfway through. I actually STOPPED watching because I couldn't take the campy dialogue, the over-acted comic book style, the stereotypical Mafia villains, the ridiculous over-the-top action scenes, and the unnecessary exposition from every single character.
Thomas Jane looked like a guy in pain, Ray Stevenson looked like a guy who was told to act like a guy in pain. John Travolta, as bad as his acting usually is, was still worlds ahead of Dominic West in terms of believability. And that's a crying shame because I loved West's previous work on The Wire, and we know he can play a bad guy like in 300.
There are plenty of bad films out there people still love them, even though I disagree, I can see it from their perspective and understand where they're coming from. Not this one. This was horrible.
Jane Thomas looked like a woman in pain
The hydrant was one of the stupidest gimmicks I have ever seen
The movie was boring and lame and if Travolta wasnt attached to it no one would watch it like that 2012 debacle
War zone closest depiction of the Punisher to date
Now you girls go watch hunger games
Much like if the IMF force got caught, I disavow this as a Punisher movie. ^_^
It's been the only Marvel movie I bought that I turned around and gave away rather than allow it to take up space. I told myself it couldn't be that bad. I was wrong in every way.
I should add the Thomas Jane version far exceeded what were low expectations for me, so I did enjoy it.
It's easily the worst Marvel movie since Daredevil and I'd rather sit through that than see this again. This is my second time watching it since it came out. I figured I'd give it another chance. Maybe I was a bit harsh on it the first go round. Nope. I was right.
This was baaaaad with a capital B. Ray Stevenson may look more like Frank Castle than Jane or Lundgren but he's worse actor than either. But I'd still rather see him in it. But the villains were insulting. Dominic West's overacting almost made me turn it off. (I should have stuck with that idea). Doug Hutchinson almost as bad as Loony Bin Jim. Dash Mihok's as the goofy sidekick was a waste. (why would they cast him as such when he usually plays pretty thuggish and badass characters?). The violence was way over the top. Punisher was randomly killing anyone who was breathing the same air as the criminals even when they were unarmed or unable to defend themselves. It became a ridiculous joke aimed at the video game crowd who would just mow down anyone on their game screen.
Its really a matter of personal taste. I prefer War Zone but I can understand why most like 2004 better.
shareJane Thomas looked like a woman in painYou're crying over some fire hydrant? It's obvious you're the only "girl" in this thread, Kelly Kapor.
The hydrant was one of the stupidest gimmicks I have ever seen
The movie was boring and lame and if Travolta wasnt attached to it no one would watch it like that 2012 debacle
War zone closest depiction of the Punisher to date
Now you girls go watch hunger games
Punisher 04 and Punisher War Zone are both 'so bad they're good' films. Both 'sucked' as quality films, but both were hilarious.
That said, 'War Zone' wins because it's the funnier of the two.
The Dolph Lundgren film was bad, but in retrospect, as bad as it may have been, it's probably the best Punisher film. That's a sad state of affairs.
Am I a man or am I a Muppet? If I'm a Muppet, well I'm a very manly Muppet
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The 2004 Punisher movie was an embarrassment to the legacy of the character. I know he's not the most beloved Marvel character but they changed out pretty much everything that worked about the comic books in the 04 film, most noticeably, they moved the setting from NYC to Tampa. What? Castle should have been taking down swinger sex clubs.
Travolta was awful as a villain. The script was terrible, the direction was terrible. It looked like no one having fun.
War Zone is a Bad Movie with a capital BM. But it's also fun, despite the overacting and the corny script. Stevenson owns the role.
I'd rank them as follows:
War Zone
1989 Punisher
2004 Punisher
But none of them are good.
I agree with you s_jester. All of them were not good and all of them have damaged the character's legacy. He is its "So bad its good" area right now where he shouldn't be. One can only hope that Marvel can do justice for the character and make a serious Punisher movie or tv series. I predict Punisher will get a tv series since it is a safer road to go. Keyword hopefully.
For the topic at hand
As for Punisher 2004 winning..it didn't win a damn thing much like Punisher Warzone and the 80s Punisher movie didn't. Only thing it did at winning was burying The Punisher movie series in the same graveyard as Batman and Robin, Steel, Daredevil, Catwoman and other horrible comic book movies are at right now. Cult Fans may love it but the general public sees all three of The Punisher movies as one of the many worst comic book movies ever made and rightfully so. Not even Marvel wants to touch the character with ten foot pole right now for this very reason. It has nothing to do with the character being rated R material or his lack of popularity either. The previous movie studios damaged the character so badly that The Punisher is in Batman and Robin 1997 territory right now. If this wasn't true The Punisher 2 with Thomas Jane would have been made or Punisher War Zone would have had a part 2 too it as well and we wouldn't be debating over which one is better now either.
Plus, I don't know about everyone else but The Punisher 2004 movie is one of the most overrated comic book movies ever made and not in a good way either.
I don't care what Thomas Jane fans or fans of that movie try to tell me. After rewatching Punisher 2004 again I have to say the movie sucked regardless if did or didn't follow the comic books at all. It has some cool moments but that is it like the Russia fighting Castle and the guitar guy that is it. After that it flatlines and the only time we see The Punisher in his full glory is at the end which I thought was lame. I'm glad I did not pay to see it back when it was out in 2004. The same thing applies to this awful mess that is called Punisher War Zone. I watched this movie online and I'm glad I did. I like how people (mostly Thomas Jane and his fans) try to act as if this movie failed because Thomas Jane was not in it. I seriously doubt even Thomas Jane could have saved this awful movie or help this movie turn a profit. He could not even do the same thing for his own Punisher movie and that one had big name actors like John Travolta and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos who were bigger then Jane in the movie business. These movies were doomed to fail thanks to previous movie studios greed. The only good thing that came out of The Punisher movies was Marvel getting back the movie rights to stop the total destruction of the character.
Sorry, but i disagree. Jane was a good Punisher...the script was just bad. Look at Janes' "Dirty Laundry" short film to see what could have been. The fault clearly lies with the production company because "Dirty Laundry" would have been more awsome as a Punisher movie than "War Zone". Because that movie is just a freaking mess!
I can see your soul at the edges of your eyes.Its corrosive.Like acid.Theres a shadow on you, son.
That is why Jane's Punisher movie and other Punisher movies are rated as one of the many worse comic book movies ever created. The scripts were so bad that they bad. it is great to see other people like but not everyone else did. Do a google search of the worst comic book movies ever and you will see that all three of The Punisher movies are on the list for all good reasons. There is a reason why Marvel wants nothing to do with the character just yet and those that truly like the character can blame the previous movie studios for doing just a terrible job with the character on the big screen.
shareYeah the 2004 was excellent.
Funny thing is that several people behind Warzone were making fun of the Jane film before Warzone was released. It turned out to be a disaster.
The Jane one was pretty mediocre. Poor script and several schlocky performances, overall saved by a few kick-ass moments. But the overall result was meh. If that was so much better I can only imagine how bad this one is.
Officially Canadian for 26 years. Never heard "aboot."