I saw the movie The Punisher yesterday. It's a good thing I like the character and Garth Ennis's comic writing that was the basis for much of the action, because otherwise this could be a hard movie to sit through. It clocks in at a full two hours and change, and it seems that much of the movie could be edited and pared down to about 90 minutes. The test market screenings must have been really interesting, because I get the impression that the audiences weren't familiar with the comic book. Some genius along the way must have complained long and loud about a lack of nice, sympathetic characters. As a result, Garth Ennis's three neighbor characters (who were little more than scenery in the comic) are given more attention. With three social misfits and a psychotic loner all sharing a rathole apartment building it sometimes seems like Andrew Vachss directing a very special episode of Friends.

The script and visual design were peculiar as well. Some tinkering with the character's origin was perfectly acceptable, some of the changes were incomprehensible. Glaring foibles aside, though, there were some subtle touches added in that showed real intelligence and regard for the character's cinematic roots. The title sequence was inspired by the animated introductions to Sergio Leone's westerns. There are other great Leone scenes, too. One scene in a diner with an assassin who plays a guitar to Frank before attacking him is strikingly similar to the scene in Once Upon a Time in the West where the mystery protagonist "Harmonica" plays his trademark instrument to the men he intends to kill. Other more obvious elements are the high-noon style standoff in the bank lobby (guess who wins), and the way that all the nameless thugs are given a certain amount of individuality. There are even intentionally added nods to Othello. This could have been a better movie, but I'm satisfied with what I saw.

In other brutal-revenge-by-bloody-killing-spree news, I've just discovered that Sweeny Todd is now available on DVD. I don't buy very many movies, but I may end up owning this one before too long.