The Punisher

Plot synopsis:
One night in Tampa, Florida, Mickey Duka leads the young Bobby Saint to an arms deal. The deal is brokered by a man named Otto Krieg, who speaks with an accent due to his knowledge of six languages. The exchange goes bad when FBI suddenly burst into the scene, and agitated, Otto pulls out a gun. The police fire back, killing everyone except the cowardly Mickey, who is terrified when he sees Bobby's body.The bodies are taken away, but Otto Krieg stands up unharmed, and speaks with an unaccented voice that he hates the undercover jobs he's always been taking. Arnold Creed is really Frank Castle, a FBI agent who is just retiring. This case had been his last, and he was upset at the death of the young man. The police are ill at ease when they discover who the young man is, Robert Saint, son of crime lord Howard Saint. When the news reach the Saint family, the second son Johnny orders Mickey to be bailed out. Mickey is taken by the Saints to a club and beaten. He explains to Quentin Glass that Bobby went to the meeting of his own free will, and that Otto Krieg, the man responsible for the deal, is dead. Howard is still unsatisfied, and kills another man who was supposed to be responsible for his son in front of Mickey.Meanwhile, Frank returns to his family, his lovely wife Maria and young son. Frank knows he has been neglecting them and forcing them to move constantly, but he promises London would be the last place to move to. Before that though, they will go to a family reunion in Puerto Rico.Howard Saint goes to confirm his son's body, and when the police proved unwilling to share information with him, he orders his own men to find out everything about Arnold Creed. At the funeral of his son, Quentin informs Howard that Krieg was a fake, that his real name is Frank Castle. Howard orders him killed, but his wife Livia adds that the whole family must also die. Howard agrees, while Johnny decides to go to Puerto Rico with the other assassins.The assassins arrive just in time for another family outdoor beach party. Frank has gone inside with his father to look at some modified guns, they hear the gunshots. Though they fire back, they are unable to rescue anyone. The assassins completely slaughter the family, and although Maria and her son manage to escape in an SUV and drive away, the assassins eventually catch up and run them over on a pier. Frank, distracted by a knife fight with one of the goons, arrives too late. The assassins return, and Johnny beats and shoots Frank himself, telling him "My father and mother send their regards". Quentin then torches the place, and they leave Frank for dead, not knowing that the explosion actually blasted Frank into the water. They return to the Saints & Sinners club, where they toast to "a score settled", and Howard gives Livia a pair of diamond earrings to celebrate. Quentin slow dances with Livia as Howard watches, then Livia strips off her dress for Howard when they are alone.Candelaria, one of the Castle family's friends, rescues Frank. After Frank recovers Candelaria takes him back to the Castle house. Frank picks up the guns his father had been showing him, as well as a T-shirt with a skull logo that his son had given him. Filled with anger, he is determined to have revenge and returns to America. He returns to Tampa and move into a poor run down apartment building, where he starts modifying guns, the apartment he lives in, and his car. Frank's actions catch the interest of his friends, the opera- and food-loving fat Bumpo, the piercing-covered skinny video gamer Spacker Dave, and the lovely Joan, who works as a waitress and is friends with Bumpo and Dave.One evening, Frank drives off in his car. He kidnaps Mickey and using a blowtorch, steak and popsicle, tricks him into revealing all he knows about the Saints. Mickey starts screaming (which badly scares Frank's neighbours). Mickey eventually gives in, telling him that Howard Saint relies on two Cubans, the Toro brothers, who control all gambling and prostitution up and down the Gulf coast. They give the money to Howard, who transports it to his bank in the Grand Caymans and "washes it". Frank releases Mickey, who discovers he was never really hurt, and freely talks about the Saints - whom he claims he hates; Mickey has been forced into their servitude. With the information about the family's schedule and their closest friend Quentin Glass, Frank starts following them and taking photos. He learns about Howard's golf schedule, Livia's movie nights, Johnny's women and cars lifestyle and Quentin's secret homosexual trysts. Afterward, he drags his own gravestone out of the graveyard and plants it in Howard's golfing spot with the date of his death removed.Frank meanwhile confronts his former police colleagues in front of several reporters, asking why nobody was arrested for his family's death after five months. Learning that the police were too afraid of taking the Saints head-on, Frank takes matters into his own hands. He sneaks into the Saints' bank building, gets past two guards and gets to the vault. He hits one man unconscious and orders two others counting cash to fill up a suitcase with money. The rest of it he throws out the window, which draws in a noisy crowd trying to catch the money. Frank, dressed in a long black coat and the skull t-shirt, confronts two of Saint's armed guards and kills them, he escapes easily into the crowd. The Tampa TV news reports the bank incident and identifies Frank. Bumpo and Dave look up Frank's history on the Internet and find his resume. Meanwhile, Howard is furious at the news, and receives a warning from the Toro brothers that if they lose more money they will be switching bankers. Back in Frank's apartment, an angry former boyfriend bangs on Joan's door demanding to be let in. Bumpo and Spacker are scared, but Frank easily disarms the man and sends him away. Joan thanks him and says they are sorry for what happened to his family.Setting his vengeance in motion, Frank breaks into Livia's car and calls Quentin on her phone with a device to disguise his voice. He blackmails Quentin Glass for $5000, saying he has photos "Mr. Saint would not want to see", telling Glass to come to a hotel. Frank parks Livia's car illegally near the same hotel, and gets a ticket. Howard, looking for Quentin and failing, is told by Micky that the man was at the Winston hotel. He later spots Livia and Quentin talking and laughing together and becomes more suspicious. Quentin denies being at the hotel.The next day, as Frank eats at the diner Joan works at, a man comes in with a guitar case. They eye each other suspiciously, then the newcomer, Harry Heck, starts singing a Johnny Cash-type ballad. Harry says he wrote it for Frank and the song will be played at his funeral. Frank leaves the cafe and is chased by a gun-firing Heck. Frank is saved by special steel panels he's installed in his old Pontiac GTO, but still crashes. After a brief standoff, he kills Heck.Aboard a cigarette speedboat moored at a jetty Johnny finds a Claymore bomb with the sign "Front Toward Enemy". Johnny jumps off the boat just in time as it explodes, Frank is standing on an overlooking hill. Howard is agitated enough to start throwing things around, and the Cubans march into his office. The two sides argue, Howard says they've had a good partnership but the business was one without insurance so he refuses to cover their losses. Before the brothers leave he warns the them that if they don't like it he has more guns than they do. Howard tells Quentin to call "The Russian."Dave asks Frank to help because Joan's hostile ex-boyfriend is back. At first he closes the door on him, but reopens it seconds later and goes to the apartment, where he finds Joan and Bumpo there preparing a meal. They invite him for the meal, and after saying what they're all thankful for, they eat. Afterward, Dave and Bumpo leave for dessert, and Joan tries to tell Frank to move on with his life and comes close for a kiss. He tells her he is not what she's looking for, and leaves. Joan goes to help make the "Iced Florentine" dessert and dance to opera music. Frank opens a bottle to have a drink alone in his apt when suddenly a very large blond man appears. The music drowns out the fight between Frank and "the Russian". Frank is beaten badly by the seemingly indestructible foe. The fight eventually leads into the others' apartment, terrifying Joan and the others. Frank manages to throw a pot of boiling water in the Russian's face and while stunned, Frank pushes himself and the man downstairs. Frank is able to move but the large man lies still, his neck broken. Frank stands up briefly but passes out due to his own injuries. The three neigbours try to patch Frank up.Meanwhile downstairs, four of Howard's hitmen discover the body of "the Russian" and head upstairs. Joan and Frank hide in a secret room under the floor, while Spacker and Bumpo remain to deal with the men. Quentin questions the two and tortures Dave, cruelly yanking out all his piercings with pliers. Dave refuses to say where Frank is. Quentin finally believes him, and after leaving one of his men to report should Frank return, he leaves. Johnny calls his father to report the Russian is dead and Castle is missing. Quentin is somewhere else. Livia tells Howard she is going out until 10, it is her Thursday movie nite.When Frank recovers he kills the guard with a paper cutter blade, then asks Dave why he would help him. Dave answers because they're neighbours and family. Bumpo takes him to the hospital, while Frank prepares his weapons, much to Joan's dismay. Frank also writes a "declaration of intent" where he invokes the motto of his old drill sergeants, "Si vis pacem para bellum" ("If you want peace, prepare for war.") and states that the justice he's pursuing is not criminal, but punishment. Joan asks how he's any different then the Saints, Frank replies "they have something to lose". Joan realizes part of Frank's idea was to be killed in battle.Frank breaks into Livia's car again and takes her diamond earrings from her handbag. He sets up another blackmail meet with Quentin. Mickey, under Frank's orders, shows Howard the ticket on Livia's car at the Winston hotel. Howard remembers that Quentin was also there at the time, and suspicious, heads to Quentin's home. Meanwhile, as Quentin leaves his mansion, Frank breaks in. Howard goes in later and discovers Livia's earring in Quentin's bed. When Quentin returns, Howard greets him at the stairs, startling the man. Howard tells him a story of how Jim Bowie of Alamo fame accused another of cheating by breaking into their home, moving their furniture, and throwing a knife in the middle between the people involved. As he talks he moves Quentin's furniture and throws a knife on the coffee table. Quentin claims rightly that he never took a cent from Howard. When Quentin refuses to pick up the knife, Howard swipes him with it. Snapping about how Quentin thought him an idiot because Howard treated him like his brother, Howard stabs Quentin to death. Frank drives off.When Livia returns home, she sees Howard throwing her things on the floor. He tells her he knows about "her and Quentin", that she was with his best friend. Upon seeing Quentin's body by the doorway, and when shown the parking ticket by the Winston Hotel, she tells him that Quentin was gay. Howard doesn't believe her, only slapping her and dragging her out to the car. He reminisces about their history and her former prostitute status before they arrive at bridge overpass. He throws her over the side, where she is quickly run over by a train.Howard goes to his club, where he offers his men a reward for the one who kills Frank. Alone in his office, Johnny asks where Quentin and Livia are, but his father outright lies to him. In a forest, Frank prepares himself for battle. He has a sawed-off shotgun, bow and arrows, M16 with grenade launcher, his father's modified 1911 Colt .45s, several small anti-personnel mines, a bulletproof vest and the skull tee. He kills Howard's guards, then sets bombs to several cars and sneaks into the club. From upstairs one of the men orders champagne by pressing a mic button. Frank sets a bomb in the bucket he sends up the dumbwaiter. When the bomb goes off, Frank rushes in, shooting anyone still left alive. Frank also takes a few point blank shots into his vest. He finds Johnny trapped and injured, and forces him to hold onto a mine with a deadman switch. Then he goes out and finds Howard, telling him he killed both his sons as from behind in the building, Johnny screams as the bomb goes off.The two men standoff cowboy style, Frank wins the draw, wounds Howard, and shows him the photos of Quentin's affair as well as Livia's other earring. Frank taunts Howard that he made the man kill his best friend and wife. Then he ties Howard by the feet to the back of a car and sets the car in motion through the parking lot, setting off the bombs he planted earlier. From the sky the fires form a shape of a skull as Howard slowly burns to death.Back at home, Frank is about to commit suicide and shoot himself when a memory of a blond women - Marie - stops him. He decides to set himself a new path and leave. Meeting up with Joan, he tells her that she is right, good memories could save a life. He leaves, telling her he has a gift for all three of them. When Dave is released from hospital, they find wads of cash left for them. High on a bridge a Frank voiceover claims that Frank Castle is dead, he is now the "Punisher."

Tags: neo noir, murder, violence, flashback, revenge, sadist

Review:
The rest is just plain mean as the hero's entire family gets wiped out by gunman and "The Punisher" (Thomas Jane) goes after them after almost being killed himself.A smart aspect of this film was inserting a bit of humor in it, such as the two nerds down the hallway who befriend "The Punisher." The sometimes-juvenile but interesting action scenes, the diverse characters in here and the humor all combine to make this better than anticipated.
After all that is what the punisher movie is about, making a comic book character fit into the real world with realistic situations.This guy could be anyone out there with a vendetta up against believable enemies.
There are no superpowers on show here just a guy with a vendetta up against a powerful man that wants him killed who can afford to hire realistic killers with personality I might add, to do the jobThis goes down as one of my favorite films of all time mainly because of the beautiful camera work and realistic gritty style action.
The film talks on a police agent G man(Thomas Jane)called Frank Castle whose family(wife Samantha Morton and dad Roy Scheider) was wiped out by a mobsters (John Travolta,wife Laura Harring and son Ben Foster, besides Will Patton) retaliates,thus he executes an incredible revenge originating a bodycount about numerous baddies.He's helped by a freaks group (Rebeca Romijin Stamos and others).
In a corrupt city of thugs, Frank Castle becomes the judge, jury and executor.What is so refreshing about Thomas Jane in the part of Punisher is that he is a sprawling surge of old school with a splash of Clint Eastwood protagonist  the detached, effortless action hero who is too cool for romantic interests, with hardcore one-liners and a merciless approach to duels.
The Punisher is a hard-R rated movie delivering a great action film of this generation.
This is by far the most realistic and fantastic comic book movie ever made.The acting is superb Tom Jane gives an unforgettable performance,and John Travolta is the perfect villain.The action in this film is stylized,intense,and always for a reason.It's a very serious movie about a depressed man whose family is murdered,and he goes on an endless quest to avenge them.It is without a doubt the best story of vengeance to date.The Punisher defeats Kill Bill to become the number one revenge movie by delivering a great story,superb solid acting,and unbelievable action.Comic book movies are certain to change in style and this will be the ice breaker for that to happen.The Punisher is an unbelievable comic to film adaption and i recommend it to anyone and everyone.This is the style that started the on screen change from movies like X-men and Spiderman to the darker,more emotional Spiderman 2,Daredevil,Sin City,History Of Violence,and Batman Begins.I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this magnificent piece of art.WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
However, after seeing both this movie and it's predecessor 15 years earlier, I do believe I would have been a fan of the comic.The thing I like most about Frank Castle/The Punisher (Thomas Jane) is that he is not too over the top unbelievable...
With this the only thing he now feels, Castle sets out to bring down Saint, killing each and every one of them that were involved in his family's death.If you are looking for a violent action movie with lots of things going bang and quite cool images then this will pretty much do you.
The opening credits are dark and menacing but the rest of the film is just a straightforward action affair  hell, it doesn't even have anything of interest to say in regards revenge or vigilantism; although this is minor compared to the failure to give Castle any character beyond that of a standard Hollywood tough guy.
But whereas the comic book Punisher, brought to life by similarly huge 6' 6" Dolph Lundgren in the first movie, becomes a bitter, meaner than hell, cold blooded killer without compassion, the 05 Frank Castle turns into your friendly neighborhood watchman who uses an ice cream cone to "torture" his first victim.
Yes, it started a little slow taking a while to get off the ground, but once he dawned the skull and went on his mission, my adrenaline was pumping.One of my major concerns was the casting of Thomas Jane as Frank Castle, but after seeing the film, I wouldn't want anyone else.
Though "Saint" was an original Punisher villain, he was still a pretty cool character, and I doubt anyone other than die hard Punisher fans would know who Jig Saw, The Medallion, and Bushwacker are, although I did love the use of the Russian as one of the hit men.A lot of people didn't dig this film because The Punisher isn't as lovable as Spiderman, and has no super powers, plus it was a much darker film than other comic films, and it stuck more to the character of the comic books..
Had this movie been released around this time when you see nothing but Superhero or Comic Book movies, it would be a better fit in terms of timing.Thomas Jane as The Punisher/Frank Castle, perfect!
The lead character, ex-FBI agent Frank Castle, played here by Thomas Jane, takes on the mantle of the Punisher, a one man army taking on a Florida crime lord (Travolta) after his family are senselessly butchered after a drugs bust gets out of hand.
The Punisher is a decent comic book movie that was panned by critics but I for one didn't think the film was that bad it just wasn't great.
Thomas Jane is good in the title role as Frank Castle a former FBI Agent who becomes a vigilante known as The Punisher who sets his sights on punishing those responsible for murdering his family.
John Travolta turns in a decent performance as Howard Saint the man who ordered the hit on Franks family and is now on the top of his list of people to punish for what they did to him.
Overall though despite it's flaws The Punisher still isn't that bad of a movie that has plenty of action, some character development, suspense, a little humor, and solid performances by the cast who make it worth watching at least once..
The Punisher is a dark and very gritty movie that shows you how far one man would go to avenge his family, this is also an emotional film too, the emotion comes form what drives Castle to do what he does.
Even with the usual amount of carnage and gore, this film in my view takes the idea of Punishment from a vigilante on a criminal and the law being incapable of getting the victim justice.Again with a Marvel title, we get the usual facade of action and suspense with Thomas Jane's acting and of course John Travolta.
You have to be a true comic book or superhero fan to watch movies like The Punisher since many fans are familiar with characters that never killed people but leave them hanging for the cops to be taken away.
The Punisher is a very different character since he kills people after doing bad things.Thomas Jane is the title character in which he's Frank Castle, a special ops fighter who knows the tricks along with knowing various techniques on how to fight and use weapons of all kinds.
Not only is he a devoted worker, but also a family man until one day a group of thugs go to his private home and kill everybody in his family where only Frank stays alive despite almost breathing his last breath.After getting better, he goes by the name of Punisher where he goes after the enemies, including the main boss of the gang, Howard Saint (John Travolta) who's responsible for murdering Frank's wife and child.
He also hides out in a crummy apartment complex where he befriends a beautiful/battered waitress (Rebecca Rojimn), a skinny computer nerd (Ben Foster) and a fat guy.With The Punisher being the third rated R movie in the new Marvel franchise (Blade and Blade II are the first two), the film is also very violent in terms of our main character seeking vendetta.
Some scenes will make you laugh while others will make you close your eyes.This is a very good comic book movie for fans of either the Marvel industry or just the character itself.
Based on the popular Marvel Comics character, The Punisher is Frank Castle (Thomas Jane), a former military man working as an undercover agent for the FBI.
Indeed, there is even the subtle implication in the phrase "this is not revenge but punishment" that suggests that The Punisher is acting out of righteous indignation when he plays the role of judge, jury and executioner!Thing is, as I said, this is a good movie, probably too good for the genre which is why it, ironically, didn't do as well as might have been expected.The basic problem, I suppose, was that this is not quite the same character as in the comics: in the comics, The Punisher was a Vietnam War vet who, after seeing his family shot down in a gangland style massacre in Central Park, snapped and started going after all criminals.
The movie character is slightly different in the sense that Frank Castle (Thomas Jane), having apparently finished his military service, had been working for the FBI, hunting down the very criminals who ended up killing his family.
The result is a more thoughtful, more methodical character who can imagine more inventive ways of punishing you than simply blowing your head off.The fact that Frank Castle didn't go straight to Howard Saint(John Travolta)'s home and blow his head off in act one was, no doubt, a source of great frustration to fans of the Death Wish and Dirty Harry movies.
(Indeed, the character of the Punisher in the comics was no doubt inspired by these movies.)I must confess that I, too, was a bit confused seeing Frank Castle taking pictures and carrying around a fake fire hydrant.
But where is the satisfaction in seeing the villain die without first being made to suffer?When Frank Castle's plan started to come together, I was satisfied to see that he had taken the time to play with his opponents head before blowing it off.After all, when a man has killed your entire family, one has the obligation to go to the extra effort of attacking him on more than one level!Of course, we are "treated" to scenes in which the villains are shown to be truly evil so that we don't feel bad about their demise (much in the same way that the wedding massacre was shown over and over again in Kill Bill 1 & 2 in the hopes that we wouldn't start routing for the "bad" guys): Howard Saint kills one of his own men, his wife (Laura Harring) orders the massacre of Frank Castle's family, his second-in-command (Will Patton) carries it out and his surviving son has the honour of actually (making an attempt at) killing Frank Castle in revenge for his brother's death.Even so, Frank Castle's neighbour (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) asks the obvious question "What makes you any different from them?"Well, he isn't any different.
Given that exposure alone, and me being an action movie fan-boy and everything, I think I should start reading Punisher comics.
The only thing separating this from the multitude of "man's family is killed, man gets revenge" 'Death Wish' clones out there is that 'The Punisher' has strange violent opera feel to it.As an action movie, 'The Punisher' is totally awesome.
The fact that Tom Jane is nowhere as physically imposing as Nash or good ole' Dolph Lundgren makes that scene (and others) all the more impressive.I've seen a few Marvel movies recently, from the terrible 'Nick Fury: Agent of Shield', through the average at best 'Elektra' to the totally awesome 'The Punisher', and I haven't even reached the 'Blade' trilogy yet, but I will, oh I will.
It certainly wasn't a labor-of-love type film by someone who grew up reading the comics and had been waiting for the right time in his career to produce a faithful adaptation.Other users have said this, but for anyone considering seeing this film: skip it.If you are a comic fan, and MUST see a Punisher-based movie, see the earlier one with Dolph Lundgren.
It was a flawed B-movie as well, but at least Lundgren's portrayal of Frank Castle was much more aligned with the character in the comic book.
Apart from one baffling and totally infuriating scene (one that was simply lousy and poorly conceived), The Punisher totally defied my initial expectations (that it would suck), and is actually quite good.Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) is an ex soldier and undercover cop, completing one last job before he leaves the force permanently to spend more time with his family.
When he does show up he invariably ends up killing people yet again no cops can catch him, and the forensic guys obviously don't look that hard for DNA or basic evidence.There is some "more violent than usual in comic book films" action, a great one on one stoush involving an indiscreet and frankly monstrous assassin and a pretty funny faux-torture scene (as funny as torture can be I guess).Travolta is a pretty good bad guy in this, largely because I think he is no longer a likable good guy unless you're a middle aged woman with recurring Grease flashbacks, and as Howard Saint he is always angry and seems to be talking with a mouthful of cotton wool.
The final showdown between Castle and multiple bad guys is very entertaining and sees him exacting the appropriate level of revenge So that's the good bits, but a 7.5 can't be all good.The bad:* - The fat supposed comic-relief neighbour who mimes opera is terrible and annoying.* - In one scene Castle must swerve to avoid the most clichéd reason in cinema, the kid running onto the road chasing a big red ball.* - The cheesy way they decided to shoehorn the Punisher logo into the climax of the film, forced and distracting.The awful:* - A hired assassin comes to kill Castle, only he shows up at the diner where Castle is eating, pulls out a guitar case and sings him a song first!!
I like this movie this is the Punisher Movie for you people who like subtle action heroes I like this movie I really like this movie not as good as War Zone so this is the worse Punisher Movie Out Of This Decade (I have seen the 1989 one but no one is missing out on anything) Thomas Jane retells the Punisher story by retiring (I think Thomas Jane was too young to retire) and moving to I forget now but then Howard Saint's lackeys go over there and shoot the hell out of everyone and the only one who can defend themselves is Thomas Jane and the guy who plays his father eventually the whole family is killed including his wife and son and the gangsters shoot the crap out of him and light a pier on fire he returns to his former house and he moves to an apartment and almost every character from the Welcome Back Frank series and then he prepares for his revenge.Punisher: 10/10.
It is by no means the greatest comic book to movie cross over but it is thoroughly enjoyable and filled with action - mainly shooting and explosions.When Howard Saint's son is killed when the FBI turn up to stop the illegal sale of weapons he takes his revenge by having Frank Castle and his whole family killed while they are in Puerto Rico having a family reunion - only Frank does not die.
This is one of the best movies of the last years.I mean it.Thomas Janes performance is excellent.He is really the punisher.This is really not a totally brainless Killer-Revenge Movie.It has also a lot of very moving scenes.(example:When Saint(Travolta)has to identify his killed son or the scene where Frank Castle comes home to his family.THis movie is really good casted.I was very surprised that Will Patton can be so sadistic-That was really a fantastic performance of the sadistic Character Quentin Glass.I think the Piercings Out-scene is absolutely fantastic.I mean it is shocking but also entertaining,but i am happy that we do not see every taken out piercing.The way that Castle starts his revenge is very interesting.It is not like he grabs a lot of guns and blows the bad guys brains out,he thinks really good about the way of his revenge.But i do not want to tell too much about the film.I really enjoyed watching this movie.I have seen it now twice.And i also want to see it a few times more.All in One The Punisher is a very cool and dark movie,with a lot of great fight scenes and explosions.This is not the Typical Boom-Boom Actionmovie..
There are many flaws with the film the fact that it does take so long before he is the Punisher that bothered me he has the simplest origins.So for those who don't know this starts out with Frank Castle's family being killed because he got some mob bosses son killed when he was doing undercover work.
I recommend it to fans of The Punisher comics, particularly the Welcome Back, Frank series as well as anyone who enjoys a solid action film and/or a vigilante flick, not to mention a good western.
Plot In A Paragraph: Retired under cover agent Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) goes on a murderous rampage after his family are all killed on the orders of a money launderer (John Travolta) in revenge for his son dying during his last case.I liked this movie quite a lot, it has some very funny dark humour and a great score.
On a side note the guy playing Castle/Punisher (Thomas Jane) looks so much like Christopher Lambert that it must really suck for him getting roles.