Punisher (1989), How bad was it?

[CaptainAwesome]

I'm just starting to get into the Punisher comics, which I find very cool. My only previous experiences with the character are the horrible movie with John Travolta and the older 1989 movie with Dolph Lundgren. Problem is, I cant really remember the '89 version all that well. I keep hearing it was bad, but I dont think it could be worse than the more recent one. So what do you guys think? Was it good or great? Did it ever come out on DVD? Thanks for your help.

[Subotai]

Not that bad, actually, for a B-movie flick. Lundgren's dialogue was kept to a minimum, and the climactic fight with dozens of ninjas in a room full of Japanese paper dividers is solid. Castle's Vietnam background is ignored, of course. At least there were no frigging hydrant hijinx.

[drwho]

I say that movie was better than the new one.

[meethraa]

It was better than the recent one. And back then I would've told you that it was a good movie but had nothing to do with the Punisher, but it feels like in some ways the comic got closer to that version in recent years.
Or maybe it's just a few of Ennis issues with Tom Mandrake that made me think that.

[DWEarhart]

It had ninjas, Yakuza, guns, bigger guns, explosions, and Dolph Lundregn wasn't bad at all. The final scene between him and the young boy and the gun is haunting.

The only thing I ever heard anyone ever gripe about was that he didn't have the skull on his shirt.

I prefer the older one to Thomas Jane's.

[The Batman]

I liked this version of the Punisher alot more than Thomas Jane's crapfest of a Punisher movie. Had Dolph had a skull shirt I think this would've been close enough to a definitive Punisher movie in my book but as it stands it was damn well good enough for me to get on DVD.

I'd always thought that this movie was pretty despised; I'm surprised to see it getting so much love.

[Patient Boy]

I prefer the Dolph Lundgren version actually.

The Punisher is a B-movie concept anyway, throw in guns and blood and you've got your Punisher movie right there.

[kalorama]

Overall, the Dolph Punisher was a more entertaining movie.

[BoosterBronze]

I loved it. Psycho Frank sitting naked in the sewer talking to God is priceless. And I mean that.

[Julusnc]

The brooding antihero Frank Castle portrayed by Dolph was a okay movie but I would grade it a C as a comic book adaptation.

I enjoyed the new Punisher movie but the feeling was all wrong with the humor.....Travolta destroys most movies with his over the top acting.

[Nate Grey]

"Dammit, Frank, they're gonna fry you and there's nothing I can do about it!" One of my favorite lines from the movie.

I don't know, I like both versions for different reasons. But, if they wanted, they could largely ignore the events of the recent one (just saw Frank lost his wife and kid) to leave it ambiguous as to whether its a sequel to one or the other. ;)

[Shellhead]

I haven't really seen the '89 Punisher movie yet. But one time I was watching cable at a friend's place, and he was channel-surfing, when we saw a scene from the movie. He didn't have the skull shirt, but Lundgren *really* looked like Frank Castle. We watched for a few minutes, long enough to tell that this must be pretty far into the movie (Frank was strapped down to a table or gurney by the badguys), so we moved on to another channel. But we both wanted to see the full movie eventually.

[Cephus]

It wasn't horribly awful. I have a pre-release pirated copy of it, complete with timecode and Star Trek music before they actually wrote the score and it's fun to watch from time to time. I wouldn't put it on a top-10 list though.