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by Dave Scrimgeour, Mike Nay & Kev McCluskey   New World Pictures (Australia) In Association with Mace Neufelo and Simon Heath presents a Robert Kamen production of a Mark Goldblatt film Dolph Lundgren Louis Gossett Jr. The Punisher Starring Jeroen Krabbe Kim Miyori Production design by Norma Moriceau Director of photography- Ian Baker Edited by Tim Wellburn Executive producer- Robert Guralnick Written by Boaz Yakin and Robert Kamen Co-producer- Su Armstrong Produced by Robert Kamen Directed by Mark Goldblatt Based on the Marvel comics character Distributed by New World International Dave Because Lundgren deliberately plays Frank so stoically, it’s hard to read what is going on with him. Kev Yeh, and with the five o’clock shadow on the jawline, his face looks a bit like the image of his trademark skull. Again, he looks dead inside as well. Dave Yeah. Kev I always forget that the plot of this film is basically just the gang war between the Yakuza and the Mafia, with Frank caught in the middle of it. Dave Yeah, he’s just kind-of there. I suppose the knives were their version of the skull in this. Frank’s obviously has a lot of time to spare, if he’s making those knives himself. And how much money does he have? Mike Ha, ha! Kev He must be using the stolen Mafia money to make them. Mike In saying that, he did have the skull on his chest in the comic book adaptation of this. Kev Right enough, they put it on his chest in the adaptation, didn’t they? Mike Yeah. Dave This film does not hold back with the violence. Kev No. It really doesn’t. Let’s just shoot the nanny through the teddy bear.  I know there's historical beef between the Japanese and the Chinese, but shooting stuffed pandas is a step too far. Mike Ha, ha. Yeah. Kev In front of the kids as well. Dave Haha. Let’s not mess about with this one. Kev Although, the kids are all so precocious, you do kind-of think, ‘Ah, maybe they deserve to be traumatised. These rich kids.' “Y’know, with your flare for entrances, you should consider a career in the theatre.” “I’ll think about it.” That’s a good little exchange. Do you think that this was a script that maybe already previously existed, and they just stitched The Punisher into it? ‘Cause in a way, if you took all "The Punisher" elements, so to speak, out of it, it would still work as a film. Dave Oh, yeah. It would still work, alright. Everything rhymes when it comes to Shake, doesn’t it? Kev Yeh. And already we’ve gotten to the point where somebody is telling Frank that this is a cycle of violence that he…. Dave …..has created, yeah. Mike This is quite a common thing with The Punisher. If there’s a gang war or something, normally he would be happy to step aside, let them kill each other, but there’s always innocents in the crossfire, which leads to him thinking, ‘Okay, maybe I better step in.’ Kev And they’ve done that quite well here with the children, because although they are the children of the Mafia bosses….. Dave …..they’re still kids. Kev Yeh, and he’s lost his own children, so if there’s any way to penetrate that, blinded-by-revenge, element of the character, it’s probably through the kids. Dave I like that shot. That’s a good tracking shot as well, where it comes right over the table.  When everyone has to go back to face-to-face meetings in the office after months of Zoom ones. Kev Yeh. Dave Do you think Franco knows that Frank’s maybe not dead? Kev He might do, yeh. Some random dog, just standing in the middle of the street.  This four-legged extra knows not to look directly down the camera. Mike Ha, ha! Even the dog’s wondering what’s going on here. Kev Yeh. The dog’s another confused extra. Dave This is good, the Kendo school here.  In retrospect, the Yakuza's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was perhaps a little on the extreme side. Kev Yeh, this film does play into a lot of these aspects of Japanese tradition, doesn’t it? Dave It does. There’s some great location sets. Very lavish. Kev That’s a nice leotard as well. I like the pop art of Elvis in the background too. What’s Franco’s kid’s name? Dave Tommy. Kev Already here, they’re blurring the lines with his character. He’s showing compassion to the other kids, he’s unaware really, that he’s the son of a Mafia don, he’s been protected from the fact, but he’s also got a really good fighting spirit, shown by the way he confronted that other kid there. So because of his compassion, he’s probably got more in common with Frank Castle than he does with his father. And he’s stands-up to Lady Tanaka here too, so he’s showing bravery as well. That’s a nice WWE-style chair-shot to the back there. Mike Haha! Kev The guy no-sold it though. Dave Typical leg shot here. Kev Yeh, there’s always a shot going up some woman’s shapely legs in these 80's films, isn’t there? That’s how you get into these clubs, just be a leggy blonde.  "Hot legs, bring your mother too." Dirty Rod! In your basket! Mike That’s not The Punisher wearing the disguise. Kev Ha, ha! I think Dolph could pull the drag off though. He’s a very statuesque man. Dave This guy here’s just staring into the camera. Kev 'Hey! I’m in a film!'  This two-legged extra however, does not. Dave This is very ‘Goodfellas,’ isn’t it? Kev That’s true actually, yeh. Dave It's like the opening, when Ray Liota is going through the kitchen. Kev The tracking shot at the start, yeh. Dave Although, this was actually made before ‘Goodfellas.’ That sounds like Rod Stewart in the background. Kev Ha, ha! A bit like ‘Do You Think I’m Sexy?’ era Rod Stewart, yeh. Dave Everywhere The Punisher goes there’s always dust. Do you think this woman here works out?  Tracking them macros. Kev Definitely. She got them gains. I see what you mean about the dust. Any little thing for dramatic effect and that adds production value is good in my book. Dave That’s a monster of a gun Frank’s got here. Kev Yeh. I really like this scene. Dave Yeah, this is a great entrance. And Frank showing a bit of power here, by deadlifting this guy.  I want you to do me a favour. I want you to tell all your friends about me. I'm Ba...The Punisher. Kev Now, the bit in ‘Punisher: War Zone,’ where he’s upside down, hanging from the chandelier, and he’s spinning whilst mowing down all the gangsters, is that just an attempt to top this scene in this one then, do you think? Dave Oh, I don’t know. Look at that. He’s got a machine gun, with a shotgun underneath it as well. That’s proper Punisher arsenal that, isn’t it?  "Say "Hello" to my little friend." Kev Yeh. Dave Move over Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Kev You’re right though, ‘cause Lundgren was on the up at this point. He was one of the guys that was seen as maybe being the next break-out star in that mould. Up to this point he had done ‘Rocky IV,’..... Mike ‘Masters of the Universe.’..... Kev …..and then more or less straight into this. Dave ‘Red Scorpion’ as well. Kev Yeh, ‘Red Scorpion’ as well. True. Dave They definitely cut this scene as well. Kev Did they? Dave Yeah. ‘Cause this scene wasn’t as long as this on the original, censored version. I don’t think there were many films where the Yakuza had been used as prominently as this. Kev Not as a major or the main antagonist, no. Dave Not until afterwards, ‘cause then you had ‘Showdown In Little Tokyo’ as well. Which Dolph Lundgren was also in. Kev Right enough, yeh. Dave Look at that Reebok jacket.  Just do it. Nope. Impossible is nothing. Still nope. Kev That’s a blast from my past, right there. Mike Are Reebok still going today? Dave Yeah, you still get Reebok. Kev I don’t think it’s as big a brand as it used to be though. I wonder what the thinking behind the bike as the mode of transport was? Mike Oh yeah, it’s no Battle Van. Kev I’m not sure about the biking goggles, they kind-of ruin the look a little bit.  Cool goggles, Bro. Mike I think a helmet would’ve ruined the look a lot more though. Kev Ha, ha! That’s true actually, yeh. Mike That’s the thing too, nobody in these action movies could be seen wearing a helmet. In real life, they’d be constantly getting stopped by the cops for going around on a bike without a helmet. Kev It just makes them look unsexy on camera, doesn’t it? Dave Yeah. The carousel too. A carousel features at the end of season one of the Netflix ‘Punisher’ series as well. Kev True. The carousel was a big part of that, wasn’t it? Dave This is another good shot. Kev Yeh man, this is a great shot here from the front of the bike.  Get your motor runnin'. Head out on the highway. Lookin' for adventure, and whatever comes our way." Dave And the cuts here, between Frank on the bike and the interior of the theme park are building-up to what’s about to happen. Kev Yeh, they’re using them to build the tension and anticipation here, aren't they? Although the bike’s no “Battle Van,” it’s still pretty cool. Dave Yeah, it works. Kev Is it a Harley? I’m not a bike guy, I have no idea. Mike The Punisher HAS used bikes before in the comics, but they’ve always been more of a thing for Ghost Rider. Kev Yeh. We should maybe review one of those films at some point as well then. You can’t go wrong with a bit of Nic Cage. Well, maybe you can with that ‘Wicker Man’ remake. And again, with these films, they didn’t have a huge budget, so any disused set,….. Dave .....any location like this works well. Kev It really does, ‘cause it gives it a bit of production value. Dave It’s like I always say, each set-piece, you remember them. You can watch a whole action movie these days and often not remember a single set-piece. Kev And even just this here, with the guys coming down the slides, it’s simple, but in terms of not having a lot of money to work with especially, it really works.  Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Dave A little bit of hand-to-hand combat here for Frank. Kev And a spinning thrust kick. One of the things about Lundgren that makes you aware that he really does have some martial arts training, is that his blocks always look good. The defensive aspects of his martial arts that looks good as well, not just the offensive stuff. Mike Although, the whole ninja thing, I don’t really associate ninjas with The Punisher. More with Daredevil. Kev Yeh, ninjas were still kind-of in vogue at this point though, weren’t they? Dave Yeah, ninjas were big in the ‘80s. Although, they’re not going for the cheesy-looking ninjas. They’re not so much ninja-looking, they look more army-like. Kev Yeh, you’re right, they’re almost like ‘The Foot’ in the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ films, in that they’ve got a take on that classic ninja look, without going straight for it. Dave Frank’s getting the shit kicked out of him now. Kev Yep. And because we’ve seen her working-out on the heavy bag earlier…., the reveal that it’s Tanaka’s daughter.  We can see bogies up your nose. Mike Wow! It’s a woman! To be honest, we already knew that, because of her figure, with the boobs and everything. Kev Yeh, you’re right, Mike. It wasn’t exactly a huge reveal really, was it? Not if you’d even remotely been paying attention. As you’ve said before, Dave, it’s motoring along. There’s no fat on it as a script or as a final cut. It’s edited so economically that each scene just clicks into the next. Dave Yeah. Well, this contraption will sort-out his bad back.  Chiropractic, Yakuza style. Dolph Lundgren was 6ft. 8" after this scene. Mike Ha,ha! Dave Is he Batman now? That was a reference to ‘Batman,’ I think. Kev Ha, ha!, yeh. A none-too subtle one at that. I suppose they would've been filmed at around about the same time, right enough. Maybe there was a bit of competition between the two films. Lundgren’s a little bit leaner here than he was in ‘Masters of the Universe,’ isn’t he? He’s not quite as muscular as he was as He-Man. He may handle his pain very well, but those ribs look like they’re broken. He’s got a lot of bruising around there. And if you can’t get to him through torturing him, you can get to him through torturing someone else, a la Shake. Dave Here’s another thing, everyone talks today about having women in prominent roles in these films, and here we have our main villain and she’s female. Kev And a female person of colour at that. Dave Exactly. And it’s all just part of the story. Kev Yeh, they’re fortunate here in that it’s organic to the story. That's quite a sexy shot of Dolph, lying there, as he shoots that gun.  Dolph's beautiful, blue come-to-bed-and-I'll-pop-a-cap-in-your-ass eyes. Dave Haha! “Now I don’t want to stretch this out.” Mike Now, wasn’t that a line from ‘Robocop, “Thank you for your cooperation?” Kev I think it was, yeh. Dave And why does this guy have a pair of women's shoes on?  'The Red Shoe Diaries.' Starring David Dochovny. Kev Ha, ha! Right enough, so he does. There must be some sort of fetish thing going on there, with his red high heels. Mike Sexy! Kev Just what you want as you’re wandering around the sewers is to be wearing a yellow mack. Dave In the deleted scenes it shows you that Jake was an alcoholic. Kev Do they make more of a plot point of him being an alcoholic? Dave It kind-of explains it, yeah. It’s more for his character arc and why he’s so bothered about helping Frank as well. Frank was together at the time and he helped Jake beat the drink. It could be that they cut it for running time, I don’t know. This is like ‘The Godfather’ this bit, isn’t it? Just the mafioso guys sitting around the small restaurant.  The Friday Night Down-On-Your-Luck Club. Kev Yeh. With the little tables. I like that line, “None for me, I’m on medication.’ That's a nice little touch, and it plays itself out in a minute. Dave Haha! Pensioner contract killer for hire.  This is what Grocer was trying to avoid with his union, there would've been pension benefits. Kev Ha, ha! Now that’s very much a piece of religious iconography there. We saw the statue of Jesus on the cross earlier and now it’s mirrored with the way this guy is pinned to the wall.  (John 19:19) Dave That’s another interesting shot, of them all dying there.  Shouldn't have had the fish, Boys. Kev The way the camera almost follows them as they crumble to the ground is eerie. Dave Good music here as well. Kev Yeh, man. The soundtrack is really good. Need a bit of light relief in an 80’s film? Use a wino. Like this guy on the bus here. Ha, ha! Mike Haha. Kev The thing is, as much as they go on about these films being too gritty or whatever, there are little bits of humour in them as well. They’re not totally po-faced. Dave No. Sometimes when they do them now, they can be a bit too serious. Kev Yeh. The DC films have been accused of that, haven’t they? Being too dark and brooding and moody, and generally just not very enjoyable. Dave Even some of the current Marvel ones, like the Daredevil and Punisher shows on Netflix, they were very serious. There wasn’t really any light relief in them either, was there? Kev No. Certainly not a lot. Dolph has definitely gotten better at delivering dialogue as the years have gone on. Mike Yes, that’s true. He was never the best actor at this point. Kev No, he’s still quite….,wooden is unfair, that’s too harsh, I think, but he was never the best at emoting, shall we say. Actually, that's unfair too. It's just dialogue that he struggles with. I think he's really good physically AND with his facial expressions. And considering he's delivering all that dialogue in what is not his native tongue, that's pretty understandable. Mike “I’ll take you home to your parents. Then I’ll kill your parents.” Dave Exactly. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, you’re right, Mike. That is the quandary here, isn’t it? He is going to save the kids, but he is obviously planning on killing their parents later. Dave That’s a great extra there, with the mullet. More dodgy extras. Kev Ha, ha! I noticed that when he took those two guys out there, he used knives instead of guns, 'cause he's around the kids. A little bit more stealthy and discreet. There is the bond between Frank and Tommy right from this point, isn’t there? Mike Yeah, in the comic book adaptation, he remembers Tommy from when he served Gianni the subpoena papers, right at the start. Dave That's in that deleted scene as well, so they must've been working on that comic book adaptation from an early version of the script, at the very least. Kev Ah, right. And here’s Tommy saving the other kids again. Him and Frank make a nice little double act. That’s a good stunt through the windscreen there.  Clunk, click, with every trip, kids. Dave Yeah. It shows the power in him, physically, as well, the way he just grabbed that guy to get him off of him. Kev Yeh, Frank’s supposed to be a big, strong guy, isn’t he? Which is where I think Jon Bernthal falls short, no pun intended. He's not quite got the same stature, y’know? Dave When he was younger, when he did ‘Wolf Of Wall Street’ and ‘Snitch’ he was buffed-up for there, but he seemed to lose a lot of weight for doing ‘The Punisher,’ when he should have been putting it on for it. Kev He’s just not got the height either really, does he? Certainly not like Lundgren. Dave No. Kev This bit here always reminds me of ‘Dirty Harry’ a bit. When Scorpio’s got the kids on the school bus. Mike Ha,ha! Dave Don’t do that on your driving test. Don’t smash into other drivers on the road. Mike Ha, ha! Kev And then of course there’s a crash into an exterminator’s van. Now was The Punisher not based on a character called The Exterminator?  Idea for a programme; The Ex-Terminators. In which superceded T-800s diversify into performing domestic duties. Dave No it was The Executioner. From the Don Pendleton series of books. Kev Ah, right. Dave Punisher is a better name than Executioner, isn’t it? Kev Oh yeh, definitely. Dave Wise man, taking the girl in his arms, so that the cops don’t open fire as soon as he gets off the bus.  Perhaps Frank missed his true calling as a nanny. Kev Again, it just shows that, although he looks completely haunted and dead inside, it’s the kids that are his achillies heel. And the fact that he’s carrying her off the bus, he still has that parental instinct towards children. Mike There’s also the fact that The Punisher would always let himself get captured by the police. And really, the idea of putting The Punisher in prison, it’s a working holiday for him. (D), (M) & (K) Next: Frank sees red.  |
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