I used to think Thomas Jane was a bad actor. Then I saw The Mist and learned otherwise: he’s excellent. (Also, he must be James Purefoy’s long-lost twin brother.) Unfortunately, The Punisher is anything but excellent. It has some of the right ideas, and a couple of scenes (especially the one of the Punisher being beaten up in his home by a ridiculous-looking but very strong henchman) are really hilarious… but the music sucks, most of the writing is terrible, the casting is way off (except for Thomas Jane), and it just doesn’t work. It seems to be less than the sum of its parts. Shame, since the people making the movie apparently put a lot of effort into it.
The Punisher (short review)
