With that in mind, the movie was fantastic. The opening sequence was amazing; my favourite of the Avi Arad funded movies to date. The music would've suited the Terminator well, the perfect choice for the Punisher, I felt. The tone was spot on. I mean, it was like the cast was in their own world. Yes, there were some bystanders for the raining money incident, but beyond that, did you see many extras? The perfect, tellin' a comic book story setting.
Note: spoilers follow...
Everything this movie did, it did well. There were no half-baked scenes. Quentin (Will Patton) is a sadist? We're going to showcase it in a lengthy, uncomfortably realistic scene. Frank Castle (Tom Jane) must be executed? We're going to shoot him four or five times, once at close range through the chest, and then blow his body to bits; it's one of the few movie executions that's left me feeling, "Yup, that guy's worm food. If I was in charge of that job, I'd say it's done."
And it didn't stop there: the execution of Castle's family - his whole extended family - was as you'd expect. Short bursts of fire, dropping women, children, everyone. It was horrible, and I found myself wondering who could complete such a job; a very real response to an incredible scene. And then there's the hitmen they send after Castle: many, many times, this is where a one-man army movie gets repetitive. The "That guy's supposed to be one of the best? The hero made mincemeat of him!" stuff starts. This time, I believed, truly believed, that Harry Heck (love that name!) :-D (played by Mark Collie) was going to kill him; that Castle was lucky to be alive.
Then there was Kevin Nash (a.k.a. Diesel) as the Russian. Again, didn't you think Castle was toast? To barely survive a grenade detonation, only to be hit with a toilet? These guys knew what they were doing, and they were good at it. It's the name of the game with this movie: if you're going to do it, do it well.
*sigh* A final comment about Travolta: he's played some horrible villians, and I don't mean that in a good way - Swordfish anyone? - but as Howard Saint? Oh, the man was in his element. Over the top in every single scene? Yup, and the comic book audience is lovin' it.
