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Movies / On DVD / The Punisher
The Punisher

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The Punisher (1990)

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24 %
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Reviews Counted:17

Fresh:4

Rotten:13

Average Rating:3.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: "The Punisher" details the exploits of the comic book antihero in his first and only screen outing. After the mafia ices his wife and children, New York cop Frank Castle vanishes into the... "The Punisher" details the exploits of the comic book antihero in his first and only screen outing. After the mafia ices his wife and children, New York cop Frank Castle vanishes into the bowels of the city sewer system, nurturing his vengeance. He spends the next few years stepping out of and back into the urban shadows as he picks off Gotham's big-shot Italian gangsters. Then Lady Tanaka, a smoldering Japanese crime-lord, enters this grim scene and heads begin to roll. Castle initially gets a kick out of her bloody antics and the newly cannibalistic underworld. But when Tanaka and her cronies kidnap a rival's kids, Castle decides to intercede and show her exactly how killing is done in the Big Apple. [More]

Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett, Jeroen Krabbe, Kim Miyori

Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett, Jeroen Krabbe, Kim Miyori

Director: Mark Goldblatt

Director: Mark Goldblatt

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 20, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Punisher

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1 - 17 (sorted by date)
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Carefully tended facial stubble trimmed to give him a skull-like appearance, Lundgren is truly impressive as a character defined by emotional emptiness.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/24/09
TV Guide's Movie Guide

With origins in a Marvel Comics character, The Punisher is, as might be expected, two-dimensional.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Destructive, reprehensible, and marvellous fun.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 1 Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

A terrible one-man-army action flick. The 2004 version is far more effective.

comment Comment
09/29/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
08/14/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Much better than the 2004 version. A surprisingly potent blast of '80s action moviemaking.

comment Comment
07/31/05
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/05
Jordan Hiller
Jordan Hiller
Bangitout.com

Often underrated comic-book adaptation that lacks the trademark skull logo but delivers the superhero presence that the Thomas Jane remake sadly lacks.

comment Comment
06/24/04
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
LYTRules.com

É difícil escolher o que é pior: os diálogos risíveis, a direção amadora, as lutas nada convincentes, a péssima atuação (oh!) de Lundgren ou sua “maquiagem de deprimido”.

comment Comment
05/01/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Marred by cheeseball sets and special effects, lame fight sequences, and some of the worst acting ever to disgrace the screen.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/18/04
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/14/04
Leo Goldsmith
Leo Goldsmith
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

No review available.

comment Comment
04/13/04
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The only positive spin I can put on this movie is that if bad comic adaptations like it hadn't been done in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Marvel never would have needed to have its current, high-quality big-screen resurgence.

comment Comment
04/28/03
Greg Dean Schmitz
Greg Dean Schmitz
Greg's Previews at Yahoo! Movies

The real problem is that it just isn't very exciting.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
12/07/02
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
10/29/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
10/11/02
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
1 - 17 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for The Punisher

February 29, 2008: Ray Stevenson Talks Punisher: War Zone
Forget Dolph Lundgren, forget Thomas Jane -- Ray Stevenson is the Punisher now, and he's getting ready to prove it with September's Punisher: War Zone. More...

August 08, 2007: A Whole Mess of Punisher 2 Details
Critics used it as a piñata and it grossed less than $35 million in American theaters, its director and star pulled out of the sequel, and the world in general seems to... More...

October 12, 2006: Thomas Jane Revives "Punisher 2" Talk
After comic-book revenge pic "The Punisher" underwhelmed at the box office (and with critics) back in 2004, surprising DVD sales helped buoy sequel talk...for a bit.... More...

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