Unofficial Punisher short film

[Paradox1]

You are in the minority with your love for PWZ.

[citizenpain]

Originally Posted by Baramos

I don't understand why they want to ground the Punisher. Punisher: War Zone was the best thing they could have done with the character. I loved it.

As for the score, as someone who saw TDK a zillion times I recognized it immediately...definitely should have went for something more generic.

saying that war zone was the best thing they could have done is a huge stretch. i loved how dark and gritty the film was but the story was pretty cliche and the acting outside of ray stevenson and wayne knight was sub par at best. dominic west who is usually awesome really hammed it up as jigsaw and don't even get me started on loony bin jim.

unlike a lot of people however i really did like the look of the film. i know a lot of people complain about the colors, but the max comics had the same vibe. the panels would all have a certain shade and the film did the same thing so i didn't really get the complaints about the lighting in the film.

[S. Grundy]

It's a what works on the page, might not work in practice. All the neon brought flashbacks of Batman & Robin (as did most of the acting).

[Exodus111]

Ok here is something that would work.

HBO 12 episode a season series.
Punisher played by Thomas Jane, also executive producer.
Head writer, co-creater and executive producer: Garth Ennis.

Dont tell me that wouldnt kick ass!!

I know Ennis is more known for his overly agressive and extreme sexual depictions, (which would fit HBO fine) but Ennis can write.
His character depictions often get deeper then anything ive seen in any work of fiction.

1 Season one town, series starts with Frank Castle driving his van into Baltimore, knowing nothing about the city he sees gang violence devastating the streets (the Wire on steroids) and gets to work.

-Exo

[Wolvieboy17]

I definitely think this could work. In fact I think you could adapt the original Punisher Max series anyway. Start with volume one, with Frank getting approached by Micro and set up a sort of triangle of conflict between Castle, the Mob and the CIA. You could introduce characters like Nicky Clavella and O'Brien but leave their stories open for later seasons.

That could totally work.

[metaphysician]

It would not kick ass. It would be awful. Why? Because we already have Dexter, and that's about the best an Ennis Punisher could hope to be, in terms of successfully attracting an audience. Most likely, the sheer brutal sociopathy without any discernable humanizing element would drive away the audience.

If you want to make a successful Punisher, go Miller/Dixon.

[citizenpain]

so it would be awful just because there's already a show that's similar? i don't really see how they're similar at all outside of the fact that they're both vigilantes.

saying that the punisher is a sheer brutal sociopath without any discernible humanizing element is a little off. yeah, he's a sociopath but his motives are rooted in loss and revenge and the need for justice. dexter is the real sociopath, a little kid who liked killing animals so his father taught him how to be a vigilante, but really he's just a serial killer who targets other killers and criminals, driven by an urge to kill.

[metaphysician]

No, it wouldn't be awful because Dexter exists. It'd be awful, because the Ennis Punisher is a considerably less likeable character than Dexter, what with him having all the sociopathy of a serial killer but none of the charm. The core problem is that Ennis presumes that *only* a sociopath would ever wage such a war, when a sociopath is actually the last person who'd be bothered by his family being murdered to that extent.

[Wolvieboy17]

Ennis's punisher isnt void of emotion, he is pure emotion. He is a man fueled and entirely driven by rage. He has no define purpose and makes no attempt to justify, he's a force of nature. The lack of morality surrounding the character doesn't mean
he is unlike able, in fact there have been plenty of characters in literature that have been like that and totally engaging.

The problem is, existing adaptations of The Punisher focus on either trying to make him sympathetic or trying to exploit the violence. Both are flawed strategies. Ennius never did that, he didn't try to make the readers sympathise Castle, he challenges you to try and 'understand' him. His stories are like a psych profile, you learn what drives him and you learn his weaknesses. You also get a detailed look at the dark and violent world that has turned him into the Punisher.

That's what makes him interesting as a character and has just as much potential to work on screen as it does in print.

If anything Dexter is more screwed up because they try to make a serial killer appealing and quirky and likable.

[Picard Sisko]

Tom Jane is no doubt the best Punisher so far. Marvel now has the rights back to the character, right?

[deadshot daquir]

i liked the short film, gritty and showed his moral struggle

[Picard Sisko]

Originally Posted by deadshot daquir

i liked the short film, gritty and showed his moral struggle

What did you think of them using The Dark Knight music score?

[Midnyte_Sun]

Punisher = One of Marvel's Darkest Knights!

[Picard Sisko]

Originally Posted by Midnyte_Sun

Punisher = One of Marvel's Darkest Knights!

[Spider-Aziz]

Originally Posted by O'Haire

I enjoyed those 10 minutes more than all 3 Punisher movies put together.

Originally Posted by marcvader

I have to agree with this. They all lacked in different areas and this short got it all right.

Saw the short again, and I think this is exaggerated feelings, it basically got Thomas Jane in a short version of War Zone the part after he shot the undercover agent:
He doesn't want to do a thing, talked out of it, Marvel Max level cartoony violence

Originally Posted by O'Haire

Jane and Marvel should pitch this to HBO, Showtime or something. Always thought the character would be better off being done as a TV series instead of movies.

This strongly needs to happen

[WolframCreative]

marvel needs to get Tom Jane signed on to develop The Punisher as a cable TV property. I loved his short, and he "gets" the character. Unlike that woman who ruined the last film, even with a great cast and modest budget.