Frank Castle, known as the Punisher, ruthlessly demolishes organized crime, but it starts an even bigger war.Frank Castle, known as the Punisher, ruthlessly demolishes organized crime, but it starts an even bigger war.Frank Castle, known as the Punisher, ruthlessly demolishes organized crime, but it starts an even bigger war.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
Videos1
John Dunn-Hill
- Cesareas Cesare
- (as John Dunn Hill)
- Director
- Writers
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Frank Castle, the ex-military man whose family was killed by criminals, who became a vigilante known as the Punisher, goes after a whole mob family and gets everyone except enforcer Billy Russoti. He tracks Russoti down and chases him into a vat that is used for crushing bottles. Frank turns on the crusher hoping it would take care of him but it doesn't. He survives but sustains very severe injuries that even with plastic surgery his face looks like a jigsaw puzzle. So he decides to adopt the name Jigsaw. Frank who killed one of Russoti's people who unknown to him is an undercover Fed, decides to pack it in. But when he learns Russoti didn't die and is looking for the money he entrusted to the Fed and will go looking for it at his home which means his family is in danger. So Frank tries to save them. But Russoti wants revenge on Frank so he breaks out his brother who is so crazed that he is committed to an asylum, to deal with him. And also another Fed who's a friend of the man Frank killed wants him too. —rcs0411@yahoo.com
- song during end credits
- rock soundtrack
- exploding body
- frank castle character
- the punisher character
- 222 more
- Taglines
- Vengeance has a name.
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated R for pervasive strong brutal violence, language and some drug use
- Parents guide
Did you know
- Trivia"Sons of Anarchy (2008)" creator Kurt Sutter wrote an R-rated draft that, according to him, took "the Punisher character out of the comic books" and put him into a real-world drama set in the streets of New York. At the very last minute, however, the studio decided to revert to Nick Santora's comic-book-style script with the intention of creating a sequel from that. Disgusted with the actions by the studio, Sutter refused a story credit and demanded that his name be omitted from the final credits.
- Goofs(at around 41 mins) When they show the moon rise, it goes up and to the left. In the Northern Hemisphere, the moon rises up and to the right. They took footage of a moon set and played it in reverse.
- Quotes
Priest: God be with you, Frank.
Frank Castle: Sometimes I would like to get my hands on God.
- Alternate versionsGerman retail video version was cut by approx. 1 minute to secure a "Not under 18" rating. The uncut version was released with a SPIO/JK approval but can be sold only with restrictions.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Makeup Effects in Comic Book Movies (2015)
Top review
Trigger-happy fun. Not for the squeamish!
Okay, first off, let me put it straight... It's better than the first two films. There. I've said it. Why? Because this movie is the comic fan's wet dream come true. There's bullets, buckets of blood and guts, bodies flying, and explosions to boot, and did I mention blood and guts? Anyway, the movie is NOT meant for critics. Who in their right mind would walk into a Punisher movie and expect something like Citizen Kane? Of course, you put into account that The Dark Knight and Iron Man were released the same year, so people were expecting some intelligence from this film. No. This is a movie about a one-man strike force, and this will appeal to guys who like Rambo. The hint's in the title, critics: WAR ZONE.
Ray Stevenson replaces Thomas Jane as the titular character. Here instead of Jane's sort of old-school action hero persona, we get a loyal interpretation of Frank Castle. It's wrong to compare the two Punishers, as they are completely different movies. The 2004 movie was more of a traditional revenge film, and this new one is a faithful, and bloodied, adaptation of the comics. (I am ignoring Dolph Lundgren's version as I haven't seen it yet) Technically speaking, the direction is fast-paced and energetic. The action sequences are nicely done without the usual chop-socky quick editing. The New York cinematography gives the film its distinct dark look that the comics had, and, of course, there is much blood to savor here. The violence, is, spectacularly brutal and sadistic, and that's all we want to see.
However the film has its weaknesses. Most of these come from wooden acting, to over-acting, weak dialogue, and hammy moments involving a child. Dominic West, who plays the horribly disfigured main villain Billy "The Beaut"/"Jigsaw" Russoti out for revenge, and Doug Hutchison who plays his brother James "Looney Bin Jim" Russoti (love that name), hams it up every time they are on screen. Dash Mihok plays a dim-witted detective that looks out of place in a film this dark. Julie Benz is wooden as the wife of the undercover FBI agent which Castle accidentally kills during his outing.
Watch the film with the intent of seeing a full-blown, graphically violent, no-holds-barred action movie, with a beloved character not just kicking ass, but shooting the living crap out of them. This is destined to be a cult classic, and sadistic entertainment at its finest.
Entertainment value: 10/10
Overall: 6.5/10
Ray Stevenson replaces Thomas Jane as the titular character. Here instead of Jane's sort of old-school action hero persona, we get a loyal interpretation of Frank Castle. It's wrong to compare the two Punishers, as they are completely different movies. The 2004 movie was more of a traditional revenge film, and this new one is a faithful, and bloodied, adaptation of the comics. (I am ignoring Dolph Lundgren's version as I haven't seen it yet) Technically speaking, the direction is fast-paced and energetic. The action sequences are nicely done without the usual chop-socky quick editing. The New York cinematography gives the film its distinct dark look that the comics had, and, of course, there is much blood to savor here. The violence, is, spectacularly brutal and sadistic, and that's all we want to see.
However the film has its weaknesses. Most of these come from wooden acting, to over-acting, weak dialogue, and hammy moments involving a child. Dominic West, who plays the horribly disfigured main villain Billy "The Beaut"/"Jigsaw" Russoti out for revenge, and Doug Hutchison who plays his brother James "Looney Bin Jim" Russoti (love that name), hams it up every time they are on screen. Dash Mihok plays a dim-witted detective that looks out of place in a film this dark. Julie Benz is wooden as the wife of the undercover FBI agent which Castle accidentally kills during his outing.
Watch the film with the intent of seeing a full-blown, graphically violent, no-holds-barred action movie, with a beloved character not just kicking ass, but shooting the living crap out of them. This is destined to be a cult classic, and sadistic entertainment at its finest.
Entertainment value: 10/10
Overall: 6.5/10
helpful•64
- dvc5159
- Feb 24, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- The Punisher 2
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $35,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $8,050,977
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,271,451
- Dec 7, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $10,161,493
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content

Recently viewed
Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.