Best portrayal of The Punisher/Frank Castle

[pr0xyt0xin]

Hard to believe we've had four of them now. Almost as many as we've had Bruce Waynes. And the best part is, they were all at least reasonably solid in the roles (no George Clooneys here).

So who do you think did it the most justice?

Dolph Lundgren

Thomas Jane

Ray Stevenson

Jon Bernthal

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

AWWWW!

I forgot the poll!! Mods plz halp?

 

[Tony Stark]

I never thought of it, but there might be more portrayals of the Punisher than any other Marvel character.

But this one is easy for me. It's Jon Bernthal and it's not even close.

I think Ray Stevenson did a good job in a very bad movie. He's the highlight of that film. But Punisher War Zone is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. It's so bad it's hilarious.

Thomas Jane, played a totally different character than the Punisher. He's more playing someone like the Outlaw Josie Whales than he is Frank Castle. He's certainly more sympathetic and less deranged than the other interpretations.

Jon Bernthal brings just the right amount of sympathy mixed with total Bats**t crazy. That's Frank Castle.

 

[MbJ]

Bernthal. The others are all cartoons. Granted, Stevenson is an extremely entertaining cartoon, but still a cartoon.

Netflix Punisher is the only one who feels like an actual person.

 

[BoredGuy]

1. Bernthal
2. Frank Grillo in The Purge: Anarchy (Not technically Punisher but close enough)
3. Tom Jane

And if Grillo actually was Punisher in that movie, he might jump to #1 lol

 

[BH/HHH]

Grillo would have been excellent, I totally agree in the Purge Anarchy that he was the Punisher.

In any case Berthanal is easily the best and I've only watched 4 episode of Daredevil Season 2.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Jane was, for a long time my favorite here. The one problem is they tried to turn him into a hero (rather than an anti-hero). The guy's plight was hard to disagree with. Like someone else said, very sympathetic. But you should absolutely be made to wonder if what he's doing is wrong. Dirty Laundry was also a great recollection of the character and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Bernthal was scary. And he was intrepid in his depiction of the character. He took it to new places I hadn't (personally) seen before. The guy is supposed to be borderline-psychotic, at least, he would have to be to kill so remorselessly.

I didnt like Lundgren or Stevenson TOO much. I thought they made it little more than meathead, die hard, "yippie ki yay" action. But Between Jane and Bernthal its a tough call. I'll give the edge to Bernthal and rewatch both in the near future.

 

[Drizzle]

Bernthal by a country mile. There isn't even a contest. I liked Jane's portrayal, but he didn't play it anywhere near as tough as Bernthal. Stevenson just seemed like a Terminator without much substance. I haven't seen Lundgren's Punisher and I don't plan to.

 

[ernesth100]

This isn't even a discussion Berthnal quite literally defined the character.

 

[The Chris]

Bernthal both in performance and writing. Its no contest.

 

[BatsDC]

Bernthal. Absolutely no contest.

 

[SlamAdams]

Bernthal, for sure.

 

[Tg11]

For me definitely Tom Jane because I feel like he doesn't get the credit he deserves as Frank Castle because even though the adaptation he starred in wasn't great he actually made something out of nothing with The Punisher character he actually made the character seem much more of a badass but also have that vulnerability

Jon Bernthal after watching him on Daredevil he is the best portrayal so far but at the same time they should have cast him as The Punisher to begin with in the cinematic universe by giving him his own movie separate from the Netflix universe

 

[GENERAL RAAM582]

Jon Bernthal after watching him on Daredevil he is the best portrayal so far but at the same time they should have cast him as The Punisher to begin with in the cinematic universe by giving him his own movie separate from the Netflix universe

But the cinematic universe and the Netflix universe are one in the same.

He's probably gonna get his own show after this anyway.

Yeah, Bernthal is the best.

 

[Tg11]

They may be one in the same but Netflix is more smaller screen whereas the cinematic universe is more mainstream for movie theatres, etc. and if The Punisher were more mainstream for movie audiences then Bernthal should have gotten his own mainstream franchise with him in the title role rather than on Netflix

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Fans are way more lucky to get a Netflix series for their favorite character than a movie.

13 hours of footage compared with 2.5, no contest. So if your favorite happens to be a character that doesn't need a ridiculous budget (such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor, Hulk) then be ecstatic that you get to see them have 5 times the character development.

Bernthal's Punisher probably already has more screen time under his belt than half of the Avengers.

 

[Drizzle]

They may be one in the same but Netflix is more smaller screen whereas the cinematic universe is more mainstream for movie theatres, etc. and if The Punisher were more mainstream for movie audiences then Bernthal should have gotten his own mainstream franchise with him in the title role rather than on Netflix

There's way more room for character development in a Netflix series that spans 13 hours than in a 2 hour movie.

 

[thanson]

Bernthal nailed it!

 

[Eddie Dean]

DOLPH DOLPH DOLPH dolph!

 

[Rowsdower!]

1. Bernthal by miles and miles
2. Jane
3. Stevenson
4. Lundgren

 

[2kt09]

Frank Grillo.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Bethal, and I haven't even finished season two. The relentless nature of Frank, his indeed "psychopathy as super power" bit... It's all there. He's not a character I agree with, even not one I can always sympathize with (The Punisher in general, and there was a time I was WAY into the character) but what Berthal does is so important: His Frank is interesting and entertaining, and that's what matters the most and what always makes for good versions of the character.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

Jon Bernthal is best of all.

 

[Zantera]

I really liked Thomas Jane, but I have to go with Dolph Lundgren.

J/K Bernthal is number 1

 

[chamber-music]

1. Bernthal
2. Stevenson
3. Lundgren
4. Jane