Thomas Jane returns as The Punisher (sort of)
The Punisher starring Thomas Jane is one of my favorite films, mostly because I write novels in Harlequin’s Executioner series (Mack Bolan, The Executioner, inspired The Punisher in comic books). I was disappointed when Thomas Jane did not participate in a sequel to the film; Punisher: Warzone was horribly uneven, though Ray Stevenson is a great actor who did his best with a bad script. I haven’t seen Jane do much since the awful movie adaptation of The Mist (a film that doesn’t get awful until the very end, in which the the movie departs from the novella on which it is based and basically gives the viewer the middle finger).
Now Jane has is reprising his role as Frank Castle in an incredible new fan film that, no joke, may be the best thing I’ve ever seen uploaded to YouTube. He’s a little older and a little heavier now, but he strikes every note correctly here. The film also features a short role for another tough-guy movie favorite, who has come a long way since the days of Beauty and the Beast. That’s right: Ron Perlman is featured in the fan film, titled Dirty Laundry.
A friend forwarded the link to this video and I expected it to be crap. I had no idea what it was going into it, but was pleasantly surprised to see Tom Jane and Ron Perlman give some great performances. About half way though I was thinking, “ok, Tom Jane could play the Punisher again.” He looks more the part, and plays the part so much stronger and more brooding than the Marvel feature film.
Then at the end when the kid picks up the black t-shirt I realized that this was a fan film, and very well done.