I remember at the advance screening of this, I heard one guy say "It makes Hellboy look like Titanic." What the movie did was make the Punisher character much more palatable for American audiences. By making the Punisher two-dimensional and less controversial, they took away the emotional pain and helplessness readers of the comic book sympathized with when the cruelty of life corrupts a good man.
In the comics, Castle comes back from a grueling tour in Vietnam and wants to spend the rest of his life with his wife and 2 children in peace. But while they're enjoying a Sunday picnic in the park, they witness a Mafia hit and are subsequently murdered, only Frank (barely) survives. He's a victim and survivor of senseless violence, and when Frank becomes the Punisher, it isn't to "punish" the bad guys. He believes that society has gone insane, and his only purpose left in life is to force it to make sense. He's a vigilante and anti-hero, not because he kills or uses guns, but because he couldn't care less about law and order. Which even in real life, have failed countless people.
The part of the movie that really took a step into absurdity was when the Saint family's hit men killed his family. His ENTIRE family. I almost busted a gut laughing when one guy tried to escape a hail of gunfire by boarding a dingy. It's like if Batman had his mom, dad, third cousin Scooter, crazy uncle Joe and goldfish Goldy killed. It cheapens the effect of losing the few closest people to you when they show all these other obscure people dropping like flies. I also laughed when Castle's mom got shot in the leg because Thomas Jane's reaction was so unnatural. But by this point the movie was irredeemable anyway.
In the comics, Castle comes back from a grueling tour in Vietnam and wants to spend the rest of his life with his wife and 2 children in peace. But while they're enjoying a Sunday picnic in the park, they witness a Mafia hit and are subsequently murdered, only Frank (barely) survives. He's a victim and survivor of senseless violence, and when Frank becomes the Punisher, it isn't to "punish" the bad guys. He believes that society has gone insane, and his only purpose left in life is to force it to make sense. He's a vigilante and anti-hero, not because he kills or uses guns, but because he couldn't care less about law and order. Which even in real life, have failed countless people.
The part of the movie that really took a step into absurdity was when the Saint family's hit men killed his family. His ENTIRE family. I almost busted a gut laughing when one guy tried to escape a hail of gunfire by boarding a dingy. It's like if Batman had his mom, dad, third cousin Scooter, crazy uncle Joe and goldfish Goldy killed. It cheapens the effect of losing the few closest people to you when they show all these other obscure people dropping like flies. I also laughed when Castle's mom got shot in the leg because Thomas Jane's reaction was so unnatural. But by this point the movie was irredeemable anyway.