History Film / ThePunisher2004

** [[Creator/RoyScheider Roy Scheider]] and [[Creator/ThomasJane Thomas Jane]], who play father and son have played the main characters that have fought sharks: Scheider as Chief Martin Brody in [[Film/Jaws]] and [[Film/Jaws2]] and Jane as Carter Blake in [[Film/DeepBlueSea]].

** [[Creator/RoyScheider Roy Scheider]] and [[Creator/ThomasJane Thomas Jane]], who play father and son have played the main characters [[Film/{{Jaws}} fighting]] [[Film/DeepBlueSea sharks.]]

->''Those who do evil to others - the killers, the rapists, psychos, sadists — you will come to know me well. Frank Castle is dead. Call me... The Punisher.''

** Roy Scheider and Thomas Jane, who play father and son have played the main characters [[Film/{{Jaws}} fighting]] [[Film/DeepBlueSea sharks.]]

** Roy Scheider and Thomas Jane, who play father and son have played the main characters [[Film/Jaws fighting]] [[Film/DeepBlueSea sharks.]]

* CastingGag: Creator/JamesCarpinello had played Creator/JohnTravolta's ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'' character in a Broadway stage musical of the film.

The second film adaptation of ''Comicbook/ThePunisher'', released in 2004. The film was the directing debut for Jonathan Hensleigh, previously a well-known screenwriter. Hensleigh had written or co-written scripts for such films as ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' (1995), ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'' (1995), ''Film/TheRock'' (1996), ''Film/ConAir'' (1997), ''[[Film/TheSaint1997 The Saint]]'' (1997), ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'' (1998), ''Film/{{Virus}}'' (1999), and ''[[Film/GoneInSixtySeconds2000 Gone In Sixty Seconds]]'' (2000).

* BlofeldPloy: After interrogating Mickey about the death of his son, Saint points a gun at him... then turns and shoots his son's ''[[YouHaveFailedMe ex]]''-bodyguard.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Frank's [[StealthPun no saint]] in this movie, but he's much more unambiguously heroic and amicable than he is usually portrayed in the comics.

* UpToEleven: The movie's version of Frank's Origin. Not only do the Saints kill his wife and kid, they kill his mother, father, siblings, in-laws, and ''their'' children, turning his simple sad story into a miniature genocide.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Joan the Mouse in the comics is a small, quiet, frumpy woman. In the movie she is played by Creator/RebeccaRomijn — freaking [[Film/XMenFilmSeries Mystique]] herself. Also, Bumpo is much less {{Gonk}}ish when played by positively cherubic John Pinette.

FBI agent Frank Castle (Creator/ThomasJane) retires just after an undercover assignment that led into the death of Bobby Saint, the son of famous Tampa crime boss Howard Saint (Creator/JohnTravolta). Holding Castle responsible for the death of his son, Saint orders [[FamilyExtermination Frank's entire family to be butchered during a family reunion]]; the kill squad leaves Frank for dead after slaughtering his family and killing his wife and son right before his eyes. Burnt out and haunted by memories of his murdered family, Frank returns to Florida and sets out to avenge his family. Becoming a one-man judge, jury and executioner, Frank decides to punish Howard Saint and his associates for their crimes — and he isn't willing to give up until they are all dead.

* HopelessSuitor: Joan shows obvious interest in Frank after he [[RescueRomance saves her from her ex-boyfriend]], but he's too broken up by [[HeartbrokenBadass the death of his family]] and focused on his {{Revenge}}.

* KarmaHoudini:
** The Toro brothers, the Saints' partners-in-crime and major clients of his money laundering business, receive no comeuppance for their illegal gambling and pimping ventures. But given that Frank is just starting his war on crime, it's only a matter of time before he targets them next.
** Jimmy Weeks, in the theatrical version. It leaves out a sub-plot where [[spoiler: Howard Saint had blackmailed Weeks over the latter's money issues, making it seem like Weeks was innocent and Glass was able to figure out how to find Castle on his own, appearing with a file in hand.]] In the Extended Cut, it restores the sub-plot and [[spoiler:Frank would figure it out and went to Weeks's apartment, where he [[MurderBySuicide forces him to shoot himself]]]].

** PlayedStraight at the same time: [[spoiler: Saint and the Toros confront Weeks on how he's still gambling after he's already sold everything he owned. Turns out Weeks is also [[StealingFromTheTill stealing money from the FBI evidence locker]], which gives Saint additional leverage over him.]]

* TheUnfought: The Toro brothers, who run an illegal gambling and prostitution business, and who Saint launders money for. Given the ending though, it is likely they'll be next on The Punisher's hitlist.

* RichBitch: Livia Saint. She was the one who expressed desire to see Frank's family dead in retaliation for the death of her son in the first place.

* TrappedByGamblingDebts: Some deleted scenes show how Howard Saint found Frank's hideout: He blackmailed Frank's FBI buddy through his gambling debts.

* YouHaveFailedMe: Howard executes Bobby's bodyguard for not keeping a closer eye on his son. The guard, prior to receiving a fatal bullet, tries to claim that Bobby [{WellDoneSonGuy wanted to impress his father,]] but that only prompts an angry Howard to finish him off in disgust.

The film has an unofficial/unauthorized sequel starring Creator/ThomasJane and Creator/RonPerlman, [[WritingAroundTrademarks titled]] ''Film/DirtyLaundry''. However, the 2005 video game ''VideoGame/ThePunisher'' is technically considered to be the only known official follow-up to the movie.

* CoolCar: The 1969 Pontiac GTO Frank drives in the near beginning of the film. It has a bucket seat, is painted in matte black, and has retractable metal bullet shields for the windows. Sadly, it gets wrecked during the battle with Henry Heck and Frank steals his car as a replacement. Despite being a nice muscle car, it's not the same. Luckily, it reappears in a cutscene in ''VideoGame/ThePunisher'', a pseudo-sequel to the film.

* BittersweetEnding: Frank Castle ruthlessly and meticulously avenges his murdered family, hunting down and wiping out the Saints and their entire gang and their operations, before returning to his apartment to [[DrivenToSuicide commit suicide]]. Before he can go through with it, he has a [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane vision or memory]] of his dead wife, and changes his mind at the last moment. He later departs on good terms with his neighbors after leaving them some cash, [[ThatManIsDead leaves his life as Frank Castle behind him]], and sets out to become the infamous wandering vigilante the world will come to know as Comicbook/ThePunisher.

* DefiniteArticleTitle: Frank Castle is the Punisher, a vigilante who goes after a crime boss who murdered his family.

* HopelessSuitor: Joan shows obvious interest in Frank after he [[RescueRomance saves her from her ex-boyfriend]], but he's too broken up by [[TheMourningAfter the death of his family]] and focused on his {{Revenge}}.

* KarmaHoudini: The Toro brothers, the Saints' partners-in-crime and major clients of his money laundering business, receive no comeuppance for their illegal gambling and pimping ventures. But given that Frank is just starting his war on crime, it's only a matter of time before he targets them next.

** Livia Saint, played by former Miss USA Laura Harring. Livia even undresses herself before having sex with Howard after believing they were victorious in killing Frank-
** Joan as well, played by Creator/RebeccaRomijn, [[Film/XMenFilmSeries Mystique]] herself.
* MoneyToThrowAway: Frank appears to be RobbingTheMobBank, but we then see him using a HollywoodGlassCutter to cut a hole in the window, which he forces the mobsters to throw the money through onto the street outside. The two goons guarding the lobby only realise what's happening when everyone in the building rushes outside to grab the falling cash.

** PlayedStraight at the same time: [[spoiler: Saint and the Toros confront Weeks on how he's still gambling after he's already sold everything he owned. Turns out Weeks is also [[StealingFromTheTill stealing money from the FBI evidence locker]], which gives Saint additional leverage over him).]]

* TruthInTelevision: When Frank sneaks in Saint's nightclub, he packs a compound bow (instead of a suppressed gun), which he uses to take out some guards. While this may seem ridiculous, real life special forces have used archery weapons in some missions due to the bows actually being ''quieter'' than [[HollywoodSilencer silenced weapons]].

* DeadMansSwitch: A variation where Frank Castle forces John Saint to hold the pressure plate of an anti-personnel mine (that would kill Saint if he let go of it) one-handed, with his arm extended. Even though John's a fit man, he can only do this for so long before his SoundOnlyDeath.

* AngstySurvivingTwin: Like his parents, John Saint didn't took well on the death of his twin brother, Bobby.

* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Mickey turns into TheMole for Frank, who correctly guesses that Mickey doesn't want to spend the rest of his life as Howard Saint's lackey. He plays a crucial part in getting the pieces together to make Frank's BatmanGambit against Howard Saint work.

** In the novelization, Mickey also resents the Saints because his father died working for them.

* MsFanservice: Livia Saint, played by former Miss USA Laura Harring. Joan as well.

* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight: Joan's crazy ex-boyfriend (cited on [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330793/ IMDB]] as "Tattooed Mike") shows up in her apartment building, harassing her, with only her front door between him and her. An unarmed Frank casually tells him to leave.

* VictorySex: Howard and Maria Saint have sex to celebrate avenging their son's death by killing Frank Castle's entire family (unaware that Frank has survived and is far less pleased about this than they are).