The Punisher (2004 film)

FBI agent Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) retires just after an undercover assignment that lead into the death of Bobby Saint, the son of famous Tampa crime boss Howard Saint. Holding Castle responsible for the death of his son, Saint orders Frank's entire family to be butchered during a family reunion; the kill squad leaves Frank for dead after slaughtering his family and killing his wife and son right before his eyes. Burnt out and taunted by memories of his murdered family, Frank returns to Florida and sets out to avenge his family. Becoming a one-man judge, jury and executioner, Frank decides to punish Howard Saint and his associates for their crimes -- and he isn't willing to give up until they're all dead.

An extended cut of the film was released on DVD in 2006; it featured seventeen minutes of additional footage that fills in some of the plot holes (such as one that revolves around Jimmy Weeks, Frank's best friend, ), features an animated introduction that follows Frank's time in Kuwait (based on the work of artist Tim Bradstreet), and generally improves on the film as compared to its theatrical cut. (This version of the film often airs on the FX network as well.)

"The Punisher: Those who do evil to others-the killers, the rapists, psychos, sadists-you will come to know me well. Frank Castle is dead. Call me...the Punisher."
 * Altum Videtur: Si vis pacem, para bellum
 * Armored Closet Gay: The Dragon, a secret that Frank used for his advantage.
 * Big Applesauce: Averted. Frank is nearly always depicted as a New Yorker, but this flick moves his story to Tampa. The DVD commentary reveals that the main reason to move to Tampa was Florida's tax incentives for film productions. The budget was too tight to film anywhere else.
 * Chekhov's Armoury: With the exception of the ballistic knife, nearly every weapon Castle uses is shown beforehand either in a montage or as part of a scene.
 * Darker and Edgier: This film was basically the entire comic-book movie slate up to that point save for Blade and its sequels.
 * Diagnosis From Dr. Badass: Frank takes a blowtorch to Mickey Duka's back and describes what he's doing in great detail, including telling him that it's not painful yet because the nerve endings are seared and when the flame's that hot, it actually feels cold.
 * Guile Hero: This version of Frank Castle. How so? As part of his Batman Gambit, Frank's plan for revenge was that after returning to the States,
 * Karma Houdini: Jimmy Weeks. That's if you watching the theatrical cut, which leaves out the scene of.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Frank's a heroic one. He managed to
 * Never Bring a Knife to a Gun Fight: Quoth Harry Heck, "You are one dumb son of a bitch. Bringing a knife to a gunfight."
 * Little did Harry know, it was a spring-loaded ballistic knife.
 * Shout-Out: This film features a hitman who's a tribute to Johnny Cash's character in '5 Minutes to Live'.
 * That Man Is Dead:


 * Think Happy Thoughts: At the end of the film, Castle has killed all the criminals responsible for his family's deaths, and thinks he has nothing further to live for. He puts a gun to his own head, but a memory of his wife prevents him from pulling the trigger.
 * True Companions: In the 2004 film, Frank doesn't believe he's friends with his neighbors. That changes when he gets to know them after he helped with Joan's boyfriend problem and.