Jul
30
The last time I went trick-or-treating as a kid, I went as the Punisher. I was a little long-in-the-tooth — 12 or 13, making me the Roger Moore of trick-or-treaters — but my homemade costume was pretty sick. It’s unfortunate that said costume, particularly the Punisher’s milk-white stylized skull insignia, has never been fully embraced by the various film adaptations of the character. In the 1990 direct-to-video Dolph Lundgren entry, Punny doesn’t have a symbol on his chest at all, giving you some idea how loose an adaptation the film is. In 2004 Lionsgate put out a new Punisher film, starring Tom Jane. He had a runny-looking skull logo on his shirt in some scenes, but the character was too busy trying to fool villain Howard Saint (played by John Travolta) into thinking his wife was cheating on him to dole out all that much punishment; this whole infidelity subplot involved the Punisher using a fake fire hydrant. It’s amazing how filmmakers are so quick to jettison certain comic book elements — even awesome ones like the Punisher’s grim-looking chest insignia — but not some of their own criminally stupid ideas.
So let’s talk about “Punisher: War Zone,” the upcoming film directed by Lexi Alexander. It’s not a sequel to the ‘04 version, but another do-over. They’re going “back to one,” as they say on-set after a blown take. Never mind that the Tom Jane film was already a retcon. Part of me hopes that Lionsgate keeps rebooting the franchise until they get it right. I want video store racks to be lined with Punisher one-offs, like a dozen of ‘em. It’s sort of amazing to me that a character as simple and straightforward as the Punisher can’t be realized on film all that well.
For the uninitiated, the Punisher (nee Frank Castle) started out as a Spider-Man villain in the mid-’70s; he’s a vigilante who’s declared a one-man war on crime after the mob killed his family. His popularity led to more guest appearances in “Amazing Spider-Man” throughout the 1970s, a solo mini-series in the late-’80s, and at his peak in the early-’90s, four monthly titles: “The Punisher,” “The Punisher War: Journal,” “The Punisher: War Zone” and “The Punisher 2099.” Interest in the character soon began to decline as the market became flooded with more and more blood-drenched killing machines. And it could be said that the Punisher was a little overexposed. He even teamed up with Archie — yes, that Archie — in a one-shot crossover at one point. Currently, the Punisher appears in two monthly books, a “mature readers” title that probably is the finest interpretation of the character to date, and a more teen-friendly series with the most a laughably bad take on the character I’ve ever seen.
That said, I have yet to see Lexi Alexander’s “Punisher: War Zone” film adaptation. The ComiCon footage didn’t really blow me away, but I enjoyed the bit where the Punisher shoved a chair leg through a gentleman’s eyeball. Still, I’m just not entirely sure if Ms. Alexander deserves all the blame if this movie is the flop that many fans are prognosticating it will be. Film School Rejects is reporting that she’s rumored to have been fired from the project — never a good sign. Still, I’m somewhat convinced her behind-the-scenes battles with producers weren’t due to the fact she’d made a bad movie; rather, she hadn’t made it bad enough.
Now, I admire Gale Ann Hurd. She’s produced some fantastic films — “The Terminator,” “Aliens,” “The Abyss” — and some lesser ones as well, the 2004 version of “The Punisher” being chief among them. I am nevertheless completely enamored of women working in producing and/or directing roles, another reason why I’m hesitant to badmouth Lexi Alexander. Women filmmakers are so few and far between, and ones that make movies about people getting their heads blown off are all the more special. I’d like to imagine that a pairing of Ms. Hurd and Ms. Alexander would not result in a misfire. Alas, it seems that Alexander’s departure may be the result of her not wanting to play ball and make a movie that punishes mobsters and movie-goers alike.
-Brad Lohan
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