well i was hoping this would be better. i've waited years for this and this is what i got? wait. let me start again... the punisher is a film i missed in theatres. i have heard mixed things over the years but i tend to enjoy a lot of things and thought 'hey, this might be alright.'. well i was right about that, it was alright but that's about it. it had too many problems to be any better. i mean. it wasn't violent enough and at times it was to tame. it wasn't action-y enough as it spent a lot of time on set up. i can see what they were trying to do here, make something dark and different, but it instead felt more b-movie like and quiet generic. generic because there was nothing flashy here. the cinematography should of wowed but it seemed very pedestrian and sometimes not so well framed. the action should of wowed but instead it was tame, it was short and it never really stood out from many a generic action flick from the past 25 odd years. it also tried to develop character and character relationships which when they had there payoffs they didn't make much sense (i'm talking about you john pinette and friends). now what i've been saying does make for a bad movie, it makes for a generic one. one that will pass the time and entertain but one that will never really stick out to much once it's over. it's been done before better but also it's been done much worse. in the end the question begs to be asked: is it worth watching? well yeah, at least once but not much more than that. it is gritty, there is a lot of death and destruction, thomas jane is great once the punisher comes to be, romijn is cute as hell, roy scheider is in it (!!!) and it keeps your attention, despite travolta hamming it up. it's not great but it'll pass the time. i hear punisher: war zone is better. well i'm off to find out. see ya'll soon... production design: 7 out of 10 cinematography: 6 out of 10 re-playability: 6 out of 10 originality: 6 out of 10 costumes: 8 out of 10 directing: 6 out of 10 editing: 7 out of 10 acting: 7 out of 10 music: 7 out of 10 script: 6 out of 10 66/100