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COMIC BOOK MOVIES

4/7/2020

1 Comment

 
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Comic book movies are by no means a new medium. In 1951 we saw George Reeves hitting the silver screen as the man of steel in Superman's first movie appearance, and then Adam West in 1966 as Batman, with many more to follow suit. But with DC and Marvel set to release just under 30 movies between them by 2020 they are more popular than ever and with superb advances throughout cinematography it takes more than a quick costume change and invisible wire to impress an audience these days. With cinemas offering 3D, IMAX and even 4DX experiences studios are having to up their game, and in most cases they are not disappointing.  

Here are some of our views. If you don't agree that's fine. Other opinions are available. And wrong. 
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1 Comment

'The Punisher' (1989) Retrospective- Act 2.

4/7/2020

0 Comments

 
by Dave Scrimgeour, Mike Nay & Kev McCluskey
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​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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
​
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"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!'
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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?
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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.
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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?
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"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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.  
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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.
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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?
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'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.
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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.
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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.
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(John 19:19)

​Dave
That’s another interesting shot, of them all dying there.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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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