ADFSDF1996’s ranking of the live action punisher motion pictures (from best to worst)

[ADFSDF1996]

The Punisher is one of my favorite marvel characters. Unlike most Marvel characters, the Punisher doesn’t rely on superhuman abilities or superpowers to vanquish his foes. All the punisher needs is his weapons, martial arts, intelligence and ability to improvise. In this take, I’ll be ranking all 4 live action Punisher Motion pictures and I’ll discuss the things I find interesting of each.

Punisher symbol

Who is he? Frank Castiglione(anglicized to Castle) or “The Punisher” is a former US service man who turned into a vigilante after his family was murdered. Aside from hunting down those responsible for the death of his family, he also goes after random violent criminals. Aside from his skills as a marine, he also received training from other elite fighting forces(Navy seals etc). He is proficient in various types of weapons and is skilled in various types of martial arts. He is in peak physical condition, has a ridiculously high pain tolerance and is even capable of taking on big brutes like “Barracuda”.

The “Punisher” as portrayed in some comics

1.)John Bernthal’s Punisher(Netflix web series): There is no doubt that Jon Bernthal’s punisher is the best so far. This actor perfectly portrays Frank Castle. From delivery on lines, facial expressions, low pitch voice and the action sequences, John Bernthal’s punisher will be remembered as the true punisher. This punisher is very resourceful, smart and tough. I also like how this punisher made an appearance in Daredevil (another great web series by Netflix). My personal rating of this series so far is 9.8/10.

John Bernthal as the Punisher

2.)Ray Stevenson’s Punisher: “Punisher: Warzone” An underrated portrayal of the Punisher. When it comes to looks, Ray Stevenson is as close an actor you can get to mirror the Punisher from the comics. Aside from aesthetics, this Punisher film truly encompassed the punisher from the comics. It’s the goriest punisher Motion picture of the 4 and it’s action packed. Ray Stevenson also did a great job of portraying the tough, resourceful, smart and stern Frank Castle. My personal rating of this film is 9/10.

Roy Stevenson as the Punisher

3.) Dolph Lundgren’s Punisher(1989): Another underrated punisher film from the 80s. The punisher logo isn’t used in the film due to copyright reasons and the backstory of this punisher is different. Instead of Frank being an ex service man he’s a ex police officer. This film has everything you’d expect from a 80s action film, from lots of fun fights, brawls and nudity. Dolph a natural blond seemed to have dyed his hair black to give himself a more Mediterranean physical appearance in this film. My personal rating of this film is 8.6/10.

Dolph Lundgren as the Punisher.

4.) Thomas Jane’s punisher(2004): I personally don’t even count this film as a punisher film. While Thomas Jane did act well, the film was poorly made. Even though it came out in 2004, it felt like a 1980’s film. The biggest flaw is how they completely nerfed the Punisher in this film. There were only two fight scenes in this film and both were comical and unrealistic. My personal rating of this film is 5/10 and that’s being generous.

Thomas Jane as the punisher.

I’m currently waiting for season 2 of Netflix’s punisher. I also think a new Punisher video game is long overdue. With today’s video game physics, a Punisher video game today would have a lot of potential. I say perhaps Machine games should be the ones to make a new Punisher video game. Anyways how do you rank the current Punisher Motion pictures?

[JudgmentDay]

@ADFSDF1996 Speaking of a Punisher video game, well I found something perhaps you might want to take a look at and try it for yourself. It's 100 percent free and hosted over at moddb. com, the largest database for custom fan made mods for video games. I found an interesting Punisher Mod for Max Payne 2.

You can just get the standlone copy of the game here without needing to pay out of your own pocket and buy the original Max Payne 2 game that this mod had been made for:

www.moddb.com/.../the-punisher-warzone-casebox-01-standalone

The only catch is that it's a single file that goes over 3 gigabytes and will take quite some time for you to download.

To see more information regarding this mod go to here:
www.moddb.com/.../the-punisher-war-zone-case-box-01

[JudgmentDay]

[ADFSDF1996]

Looks like a well made mod, I may check it out. Thanks for sharing.

[JudgmentDay]

Also saw these addons for the mod:

[JudgmentDay]

@ADFSDF1996 There's also a more recent up to date release of the mod called Executioner edition:

www.moddb.com/.../casebox-01-executioner-edition-standalone

Weighs about 3 gig also.

[ADFSDF1996]

That one looks good too.

[JudgmentDay]

@ADFSDF1996 If you ever got the chance to test and play this mod then let me know how it goes. I'm assuming you already have a PC that have the minimum required specs to handle it. Since this mod is for a game from 2003 I would presume your PC would have at least the minimum specs for it.

[StingRayxoxo]

There’s talk of Punisher vs Batman movie. I need to do more research though. I personally really loved the Netflix version Punisher (minus the Defenders, yikes) the best. My argument may be discounted because I haven’t seen the Dolph Lundgren version. My first experience with Punisher was through comics.

[TheRealQuestion]

I dont think they can swing Punisher vs Batman, Punisher is from Marvel Comics and Batman is from DC Comics.

And i agree, the netflix version is awesome. The 2004 movie with Thomas Jane was the first punisher movie i saw, its an old favorite of mine.

[Northern_star]

holy fck. i never would have thought you know about these things pal.

[JudgmentDay]

Marvel "MAX" Imprint is the best version of The Punisher IMHO when it came to the comics version. There's also the "Welcome Back Frank" series of comics under the "Marvel Knights" brand that the 2004 movie is mainly based on. Only that Welcome Back Frank is WAY BETTER than the 2004 movie.

[Aynsof]

I saw the punisher series on Netflix
I did so in giving all the superhero stuff that was piling up a go around the same time Marvel and DC stuff both
I thought initially that it was one of the better of them but didn't overly care for it... I get that he isn't really a nice guy but he was just a bit much of a jerk and it was a little annoying and it seemed to be swaying into some of the same stuff the other shows were
Predictable and cliche ridden and it became more annoying than enjoyable to watch
I will contend that it may have been just watching too much of all this superhero stuff in too short of a timespan
I loved the Lundgren one as a kid but it would probably seem corny now as movies of that time often do but back then it was cool
Never seen the others

[Exterminatore]

I love them all. The Punisher is like pizza. There is no bad Punisher per say.

[JudgmentDay]

Still think Marvel MAX edition of Frank Castle was the best overall. Marvel Knights "Welcome Back Frank" was also really good, and the 2004 movie is based on that set of comics, although they butchered it and modified it so much that it just isn't the same or as good as the original source that it had been based on.

[Exterminatore]

I think the Netflix series is best.

[Sixgun77]

Dolph is easily my favorite depiction, though the movie itself is not very good. John ain't bad at all, but there's not nearly enough action in the series. I also intensely dislike rebooting him, I'd much rather see a Vietnam vet.

[JudgmentDay]

What about the comics? Did you ever read or see any of the Marvel "MAX" comics version of Frank Castle? The first batch was mainly written by Garth Ennis. That version he is still a Vietnam vet.

[MikeTheGreek79]

Netflix was best version I like him and Deathstroke are my favorite characters.

[ChocolateCheesecake]

My oldest son loves that show

[AngryNoctis]

In their own right they weren't that bad

[ADFSDF1996]

Only the 2004 one was pretty bad. The other three are very good.

[JudgmentDay]

@ADFSDF1996 I hadn't gotten to the Netflix series yet, but I favored War Zone above all the other movies, that's about as close as they got to the Marvel "MAX" version of Frank Castle, although they still butchered and modified the original source materials so much in order to squeeze enough content into a movie that last about 2 hours. From the trailers and the stuff I had seen before for the Netflix one it seems to match my expectations.

[Secretgardenblood]

Good take