As far as I'm concerned, The Punisher from 2004 is the best live-action adaptation of Frank Castle ever made. However, that one comes with a caveat. If you want the best version of this film, you need to track down the Extended Edition from 2009, which I believe was only ever made available on a DVD now long out of print. Whilst the 2004 version has plenty to recommend it, it was cut quite heavily for release by the studio and, as such, has quite a few plot-critical scenes missing. The Extended Edition restores many of those scenes, but due to the lack of funding, the sound isn't polished and a lot of the score is repeated. Returning home after a sting that got out of hand, FBI Agent Frank Castle is looking forward to a family reunion and a life away from violence with his wife and son. Unknown to Frank, however, the person who died in the sting was the son of Howard Saint, a wealthy Tampa money launderer. After cancelling the debt of Frank's gambling addict former partner, the entire Castle clan is eliminated in brutal fashion; with Frank the only survivor.
The Punisher is a somewhat slower burn than other films featuring Frank Castle, but serves as an origin that doesn't merely demonstrate The Punisher's ability to deal death, but how he can construct and execute a plan to make Batman jealous. Rather than simply killing Howard Saint and his entire organisation, Castle executes a long-term operation that drives Saint to kill his own wife and best friend in a fit of jealousy, break off with his major business partners and make a series of poor decisions that place him at the mercy of The Punisher. Thomas Jane is brilliant as Frank Castle, carrying the intensity of the role whilst still being a believable human being. For those still amazed that Leo ate raw meat, check out the commentary for The Punisher; Jane did just about every stunt, learned how to use every weapon, got thrown into a brick wall, had a prosthetic wound sewn onto him but kept going to not spoil the take, and even learned to stunt drive. Jane loved playing Frank Castle so much he made a fan film about him with his own money (which we'll get to in time). It is a great performance, with few cheesy one-liners or quips.
Actually the whole cast is great, even Travolta, who is a competent actor, and the action scenes are done well, especially the car chase with Harry Heck and, of course, the fight with "The Russian". Honestly one of the best examples of fight choreography I've seen out of Hollywood, the Russian fight is paced out to "La Donne Mobile" and has plenty of visual gags to go along with the bone-crunching action, portrayed by two actors who can use their physicality to best effect. Seriously, watch the fight on YouTube at the very least. Yes, I will defend this version of The Punisher for as long as I have breath in my body, warts and all, as it's the one that best represents the character as I perceive him, and I would happily have Jane come back to the role in the MCU, if that was at all on the cards. Hell, get Jane back, adapt some of the Garth Ennis MAX comics and put the team from the John Wick films on it.
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