The Punisher

Name: The Punisher
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: April 16, 2004
Duration: 124 min
Rating: 33
Cast: Laura Harring, Thomas Jane

2004

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 729 Ratings

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8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 729 Ratings

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The Punisher

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Movie Details & Credits

Lions Gate Films | Release Date: April 16, 2004 | Unrated

Starring: Laura Harring, Thomas Jane

Summary: Marvel's unstoppable vigilante hits the big screen. After losing his family in to mob violence, undercover FBI agent and former Marine Frank Castle (Jane) decides to dedicate himself fully to the eradication of crime from America.

Director: Jonathan Hensleigh

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: Unrated

Runtime: 124 min

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Critic Reviews

Peter Travers

Among the recent spate of comic-book movies, from "Spider-Man" to the "X-Men," The Punisher is unique. Read full review

Chris Kaltenbach

The Punisher punishes. That's what he does, and that's all this movie does. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Maitland McDonagh

The second attempt to bring a dark corner of the Marvel comic-book universe to the screen, this comic-book-based revenge story is undermined by its inconsistent tone. Read full review

Benjamin Strong

With topical revenge fantasies already available (Dogville, the Kill Bills) and with Roy Scheider on hand as a gun-loving paterfamilias, The Punisher mismanages its greatest asset: an unusual embarrassment of camp riches. Read full review

Jami Bernard

It features an insane amount of violence and a number of visual references to the comic, but it lacks the original's humor and spirit. Read full review

Stephanie Zacharek

If you can get past the goofy writing, there's lots of noisy action in The Punisher, but little of it is particularly exhilarating. In fact, it's more of an endurance test. If you can sit through it, you should consider yourself duly punished. Read full review

Marc Savlov

The Punisher is such a bad film that it becomes inadvertently entertaining; it’s enough to make you pine for the original version of the black-clad Marvel Comics’ badass, played to awful imperfection in 1989 by Dolph Lundgren. Read full review

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User Reviews

Karl2294

Sep 16, 2015

My favourite all-time film! It's not, by any means, an impressive film.. But it's a film that you can sit back, switch off and watch over and over. It's a feel-good-kick-ass film. 10/10

24 of 30 users found this helpful246

Stagger74

Jul 13, 2021

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2 of 8 users found this helpful26

Longo12

Feb 7, 2014

I love this movie! One of my favorite comic book movies ever! I don't care what critics say about it. I can watch this movie 100 times and not get bored. The scenes with the assassins are easily the best parts and so much fun to watch. Tom Jane will forever be the Punisher to me. Great movie!

18 of 22 users found this helpful184

Hutake

Nov 28, 2017

I really enjoy that movie when I was a kid and continuing liking it. Thats not the kinda movie too win a oscar or something but its a fine one........

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

KelvinSelimor

Jan 30, 2022

The Punisher. Only one word - Revenge. The Punisher is reminiscent of a typical action movie from the 70s and 80s. An unkillable hero and a vicious villain. Thomas Jane showed his hero well, for which we thank him!

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

CLS

Jun 13, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I've read the Punisher comics that were the inspiration for some of the scenes such as the interrogation and the apartment setting where Frank Castle and his 3 neighbors live. Although Thomas Jane acted well in this movie, I felt that his look for this movie should have been as intimidating as Ray Stevenson's version, which in this reviewer's opinion had the "look" of the Punisher as he appears in the 2000's-era comics. Unfortuntely, most of the villains aren't memorable and I wished the movie used a recurring villain from the comics for the Punisher to fight against instead. The revenge flick is nothing new - yet we are talking about someone who punishes criminals on a daily-basis and that's what the Punisher is good at. Hopefully in the future, someone would actually write a decent story about this Punisher character.… Expand

1 of 10 users found this helpful19

noob328

Oct 25, 2021

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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22	#22 Most Discussed Movie of 2004
46	#46 Most Shared Movie of 2004