The Punisher(1989) Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett, Jr., Jeroen Krabbé, Kim Miyori, Bryan Marshall, Nancy Everhard, Barry Otto, Brian Rooney, Zoshka Mizak, Kenji Yamaki, Hirofumi Kanayama, Larry McCormick, Todd Boyce, Lani John Tupu, John Negroponte, and Christian Manon Directed By: Mark Goldblatt Review JUDGE, JURY, EXECUTIONER, ALL IN A DAY'S WORK This wasn't even a Punisher movie, not once throughout this whole generic boring action piece of garbage film did this feel like Punisher. The avenging angel of Marvel Comics fame comes brilliantly to life in this searing action-adventure thriller! Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, a veteran cop who loses his entire family to a mafia car bomb. Only his ex-partner believes Castle survived the blast to become THE PUNISHER ... a shadowy, invincible fighter against evil who lives for total revenge on his mob enemies. He isn't sporting the skull on his chest and for an 80's action film it's not as brutal as other 80's action films like Commando or First Blood. And the plot's just boring and we don't delve into Frank Castle as a character at all. The acting is lifeless, like a decaying tree with some low budget standard effects. You'd think that in an 80's action film about one of the most violent crime fighter's in comics it would be more fun, but it's no fun at all. I've seen all three Punisher movies now and personally give Thomas Jaynes any day. I'm giving this Punisher a one out of five.

Dolph Lundgren, either by choice or deficiency, plays Frank Castle (AKA The Punisher) with all the intensity of someone who has a very, very bad hangover. It's one thing for an anti-hero to be laconic, quite another to be almost catatonic. As always, co-star Louis Gossett Jr. gives a performance that suggests that he believes he's in a much better film, here playing Castle's former Partner Jake Berkowitz (I'm guessing the character was named before Mr. Gossett was cast).This first cinematic incarnation of Marvel's 'The Punisher' is moderately diverting when something is being kicked, cut, shot or blown up, but sadly they decided to let people talk as well.

Frank Castle (Dolph Lundgren) is a former cop who lives in the sewers as The Punisher after his wife and kids were murdered. Mob boss Dino Moretti is responsible but is released after the court fails to convict him. The Punisher kills him and his henchmen. Frank's former partner Jake Berkowitz (Louis Gossett Jr.) gets hounded by Sam Leary to be his new partner. She believes that Frank Castle is still alive as The Punisher despite official denial. Gangster Gianni Franco (Jeroen Krabbé) returns to town while Lady Tanaka of the Japanese Yakuza proposes a partnership with his organization weaken by The Punisher.I appreciate the strip down attempt at a hard-nosed comic book movie. They even kick around some kids. However Mark Goldblatt is not a good enough director. The style and look of it is solidly in a lower level. The action isn't that exciting. Lundgren doesn't do much acting-wise. It gets a bit boring without any compelling acting.

I don't like the Punisher character and this was from the time before Marvel made good movies, but it turned out to be quite acceptable. I found it pretty entertaining. I thought Dolph Lundgreen in the main role was just an imposing figure and an impassive face. It turns out that his expressions while shooting were hilarious (especially when he shoots up a clandestine casino) and that action-wise, he held his own, perhaps even better when fighting hand-to-hand. I read that they took real martial artists and that Dolph was a former karate champion, so although there's no elaborate fight choreography, it works anyway. The scene where he shoots a crossbow in a guy's chest and rappels down a rope while shooting bad guys made me laugh out loud. Of course, he has an apparently fake beard that distracts and sometimes awkward, yet enjoyable, lines, but his physique makes up for it. He looks the part despite the lack of skull emblem. The story involving the Japanese mafia trying to take over the Italian one could have been worse despite involving the kidnapping of kids.Other scenes of interest were Dolph taking down guys silently one by one at the start, him against a bunch of Yakuzas in a carnival house, and the brawl near the end when the lights go red. Yeah, the Punisher is unbelievably lucky in not being shot so much, especially the way he moves while shooting instead of taking cover, but I didn't mind. What impressed me perhaps the most was the acting by the 2 main bad guys, especially the mafia boss Franco. They were serious, not campy at all and they were credible in their roles. The Italian mobsters were more corny, while the Japanese were just expressionless fighting machines. So for an 80s action movie, it's far from the top, but it deserves a better reputation than it has. Of the 3 Punisher movies, I still prefer the second one with Thomas Jane though.Rating: 6.5 out of 10 (good)