The Punisher comic is better on screen

Those who have read the Marvel comic book series The Punisher would know that the title character kicks some serious ass. Well, so does the latest realization of the superhero, now showing on the big screen. It would have been the first incarnation of the Punisher but our favorite Swede, Dolph "Drago' Lundgren, played the vigilante super-hero way back in '89. Without going too far out on a limb, I can safely say that this newer version is much better.

The Punisher tells the story of Frank Castle (Thomas Jane), ex-Delta ops and current FBI operative. He is unlike most Marvel superheroes; he is a normal human being with no special powers, a load of drinking problems and a very cold outlook on life. He does have one love and that's guns. Not your bazookas or hand-held missiles, but tactical weaponry such as suppressed Colts, the Delta's favored M4, loads of C4 and one very sweet shotgun. And unlike many superheroes he doesn't believe in justice or jails as the way to solve problems, but execution.

The movie opens with Frank Castle about to retire after his last sting and ready to move to a London desk job with his glamorous wife (Samantha Mathis) and young son. They leave for Puerto Rico to vacation and attend a big family reunion. Except that there was a minor glitch during the sting -- a casualty amongst the arms dealers being netted -- and it just happens to be the son of big-time Tampa businessman,

Howard Saint (John Travolta, who returns to playing bad guys with ease). When he's not cavorting around in his Bentley, Saint is in the business of transporting money for drug dealers. He and his wife Livia (Laura Elena Harring) aren't too pleased with their son's untimely death and they decide to pay back the Castle family the only way they figure is appropriate. Saint's right hand man Quentin Glass (Will Patton) is given the job. Frank Castle is left for dead and his entire family and relatives brutally murdered, leaving us with the makings of one very pissed off vigilante.

The entire movie takes us back and forth between Castle's new life of revenge and the Saints' daily routine. Howard and Livia are probably like any other dysfunctional, powerful couple in crime; he dotes on her with guarded eyes and she repays him for his money and devotion with her beauty. Frank Castle, on the other hand, moves into a shoddy apartment building, where his new neighbors are equally intrigued and terrified of this man who doesn't sleep all night. The sexy waitress-next-door, Joan (Rebecca Romijn), muses that he's probably an artist, while Mr. Bumpo (John Pinette) and Dave-the-weird-pierced-geek (Ben Foster) are wary of him until they all learn the truth once Frank surfaces on the local news.

As a matter of fact, while it's not really a secret as to what the rest of the story will eventually lead to, it is how the film chooses to reach that final act that separates it from the run-of-the-mill pyrokinetic super-hero films. For an action movie based on a comic book, you won't be expecting life-changing moral revelations or heartfelt drama. First-time director Jonathan Hensleigh knows that all too well and gives the movie a wonderful lighthearted touch. He also never forgets that Frank Castle is an elite career soldier, who knows his environment and never forgets an escape plan.

Throughout the movie, there is an absolute lack of stupid "why-the-hell-didn't-he-shoot-him-first" decisions. Castle, and Hensleigh, has this planned out to the last detail and it pays off the way tactical planning should in real life. Right there is the reason The Punisher saves you from the "dying breath" clich??s or the "escaping the bad guy's lair" scenarios. The kill scenes are imaginative and the movie is logical, a rarity in many films, rarer still in wall-to-wall action flicks.

This review wouldn't be complete without mentioning Thomas Jane's portrayal of The Punisher. He looks every bit the part -- the trivia boards are filled with stories of his weight training program -- and by being a lesser known actor, his screen presence is not distraction, allowing the movie to maintain Frank Castle's "shoot-first, ask questions later" attitude. His dialogues are short (he often replies with mere facial expressions) and he provides a perfect foil to the colorful Howard Saint.

The ending act of the movie is brilliant. There is no Arnold Schwarzenegger-like assault on a fortress or a Hulk-like breakout of a complex. Just the satisfaction of seeing the pieces slowly fall into place.

The Punisher has its share of fast cars, gorgeous women and wicked guns, but ultimately it's about not tricking the audience just to be to able to provide for that extra scene of fireworks. If Frank Castle is as trained, determined and hell-bent on punishment as the movie would have us believe, then it's a breath of fresh air to see it play out accordingly.