This Friday the first season of the series The Punisher is released on Netflix. Worn by Jon Bernthal, the character was introduced in season 2 of Daredevil. While the first images announce a violent series, rhythmic to the sweet notes of Metallica, let's take a look back at the other adaptations of the anti-hero Marvel.
The Punisher created by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru and John Romita, Sr. (1974)
The character first appeared in 1974 in a Spider-Man comic book but it was not until 1978 that he arrived in France. Frank Castle is first and foremost a police officer; At the death of his family, killed in a park by mafiosi, he comes out of his hinges and becomes a real anti-hero, killer of killers. In 2000, the character was revived through Garth Ennis' miniseries. The character gets rid of his gadgets and his James Bond side, to become the cold and unbalanced anti-hero today famous. He then reappeared in 2006 during the Civil War cross-over, where he joined Captain America's camp. Then he joins the Thunderbolts team, a team of dubious anti-heroes, led by Red Hulk, aka Ross Thunderbolt, the general who pursued the Hulk throughout his life. This team has been composed of members such as Deadpool, Ghost Rider, Venom or Elektra. The Punisher was then killed, killed by Wolverine's son Daken, before returning in the form of Frankencastle, a Punisher mixed with Frankenstein's monster. A dubious idea that fortunately did not last.
Punisher directed by Mark Goldblatt (1989)
This is the first film adaptation of The Punisher. This version, of Australian origin, remains relatively faithful to the character. Frank Castle lost his family and decided to enforce the law across the line. By becoming an outlaw, he avenges the oppressed and condemns the guilty. Dolph Lungren, superstar of the action movies of the 1990s, recently in the great team Expendable, wears the skull costume. He offers an evasive, almost bland performance, despite a convincing physique. This is a bit the problem recently criticized by Henry Cavill (Superman) and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), who are physically irreproachable, beautiful, charismatic and imposing, but do not translate any game. It's the same here for Dolph Lungren. The actor is muscular, handsome, charismatic but his acting is totally absent. There is no opposition between before and after the murder of his family. Thus, the filmmaker decides not to show Frank Castle, but only the Punisher. There is no opposition between the two versions of the character, so the evolution between the two statuses does not appear. The issues that animate the character, his fears, his motivations are not put forward. The whole identity of the character is disguised, amputated from its genesis.
Beyond that, this adaptation of the Punisher clearly smells like a Christmas tree. Everything is made of cardboard. The characters are caricature, the villains are ridiculous, the dialogues totally empty, the situations are expected and not really exciting, and the actors cabotise as much as they can. The film, totally straight, is not animated by any conviction, only an acrid and bland taste remains in the mouth. The fights are not transcendent, are linked to furnish a film without history, with refined violence.
The Punisher directed by Jonathan Hensleigh (2004)
Jonathan Hensleigh, mainly screenwriter, notably on Armaggedon and Jumanji, also directed Irish Gangster. With The Punisher, he certainly offers his most cult role to Thomas Jane (Don't fall asleep), who assumes the role of Frank Castle. This time, the film chooses to show the pre-Punisher era, where Frank Castle was still a police officer. An obvious price party that allows to see the evolution of the character, his slow descent into hell and his redemption by justice, or rather punishment. The character is relatively well written, at least enough for the viewer to become attached to him. More faithful to the character, The Punisher sounds like an action movie of the 1980s, behind its time. A certain nostalgia emerges from this obsolete work as soon as it was released, which was totally wrong era. The music, the characters, the situations and even the fights, everything breathes the 1980s.
The character lacks madness, demons, and appears more like a bad guy like John McClane. Thomas Jane, beautiful mouth, signs a bland, expressionless performance. Supposed to be cold and distant, the actor falls more into a form of dark and taciturn style, which does not bring out the madness of the character. There are still some nice sequences, including hand-to-hand combat in the hero's house, a villain played by John Travolta, and some well-done action sequences. However, faced with insipid secondary characters, a classic story of revenge in the face of cliché villains and a cruel lack of violence, Jonathan Hensleigh's film still fails to honor the Punisher.
The Punisher – War Zone directed by Lexi Alexander (2008)
This time, the character is worn by Ray Stevenson (Volstagg in the Thor saga), another bad guy of action cinema. This version is directed by director Lexi Alexander, a detail to highlight in the very masculine world of Hollywood. This young German filmmaker tried to make a place for herself in Hollywood by signing a few episodes of series: Taken, Arrow, Supergirl and Limitless. But his best film remains Hooligans. This latest film adaptation of The Punisher also offers the appearance of a real super villain, with Jigsaw, or the Puzzle in French. Jigsaw has no superpowers. He is, however, a good shooter, and an experienced fighter, even equalling the Punisher in this area. Throughout his years in the underworld, he has gained extensive experience in the fields of street fighting techniques and the use of firearms and knives.In this version, Jigsaw's real name was slightly changed to Billy "The Beaut" Russoti. While attending a meeting, the Punisher attacks and kills a Mafia family. Billy escapes and is chased by the Punisher. Later, Billy accidentally falls into a glass crusher, and the Punisher switches on the machine. Russoti does not die but his face is horribly disfigured.
More modern, the film still suffers from a flat story , an ultra classic scenario, but the fight scenes are more rhythmic and more impressive. Ray Stevenson fails to enhance his vision of the character, and signs a rather bland performance. No actor has really managed to transcend this cult anti-hero of the Marvel universe. Similarly, none of the films has been able to synthesize the violence of the character, failing to create a faithful and ultra-violent universe, in application of the vision of the comics.
Daredevil, season 2 of Drew Goddard (2016)
After a very successful first season, which features an involved, utopian, loyal and successful Daredevil, the showrunners decided to oppose him to the powerful Punisher. Finally, the Daredevil series will sign the most faithful adaptation of the character worn by Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, Baby Driver). The actor is the most inhabited by his role, truly invested in his character. The actor signs the most faithful performance of the character thanks to a writing that fully demonstrates the madness that animates him. The character is opposed to his demons, to his hauntings, the director demonstrates what drives him. He is totally crazy, torn forever to have lost his family, his only remedy? Punishment. The Punisher is ambiguous, both off-putting and endearing, driven by paradoxical desires to do good via horrible methods. Only, the character remains secondary, and lacks development. Moreover, since this is a series, the violence is totally refined, totally diluted, and does not magnify this ultra violent character.
The new series The Punisher is released this Friday, November 17 on Netflix. According to the first images, the show will trace the origins of the character. But Netflix recipe obliges, we can fear that this series lacks violence, darkness, madness. Other adaptations of Marvel comics, Iron Fist and The Defenders, did not fully convince when they were released, due to lazy conformism and a cruel lack of ambition. The Punisher deserves why not a new film adaptation to stage a violent and desperate Punisher, to pay tribute as it should to the paper character.
