9 May 2004
Punisher Re-write/Treatment
This was my response to seeing the last Punisher movie. I saw it in the theatre and was severely disappointed. This was the form my anger took.
§ Suddenly the “enforcer” of the purchasing party is gunned down with an extremely accurate round presumably from a sniper rifle. A prominent member of the selling party is also gunned down. The rest of the scum are well versed in these situations and have taken cover. Both sides bicker incessantly regarding the origin of these sudden killings.
§ In succession the remaining members of both parties are killed in increasingly gruesome ways. The unidentified assassin has packed more than just a sniper rifle. All manner of high-tech, high-caliber weaponry is used.
§ Finally only one scummy character remains. He was not a prominent member of either party and doesn’t look to be particularly imposing. He seems to have been miraculously spared during the onslaught, until the assassin reveals himself. Scummy guy is scared shitless and scans the face that has been exposed from the shadow for some level of recognition. A hint of a memory seems to come to scummy guy but it is immediately overshadowed by a new revelation. The assassin has stepped further into the light to reveal the trademark Punisher logo upon his shirt. A whole new level of fear has taken over scummy guy. The Punisher already has a solid reputation.
§ Without any explanation or any words at all the Punisher dispatches this final scummy guy with gruesome efficiency and skill. The Punisher helps himself to items from the gun sale. A hint of a smile crosses the Punisher’s face before returning to the shadows.
§ Title sequence. Montage of newspaper articles chronicling the sordid affairs of the Punisher. The articles are vague but when viewed in succession it is apparent that all accounts are of the same man. The articles are all speculation. The Punisher is not an out-and-out super-hero. The final article shown is seemingly unrelated and concerns the collateral damage of a mob shootout. The collateral damage being the death of a mother and child and the near fatal wounding of the father.
*Cool idea that would never happen: articles would be in the Daily Bugle (where Peter Parker aka Spider-man works). The articles would be small on the bottom of the front page at best because the banner headlines would showcase Spider-man. Reinforces the idea that the Punisher isn’t a super-hero in the same class as a Spider-man.
§ The news of the gun sale slaughter has reached the top-level mob boss. The Punisher has been causing him great stress over the last few months. The Punisher’s activities have found a focus and they are focused on this man’s enterprise. Mob boss wants him found and eliminated by any means necessary.
§ The Punisher lives at a rundown apartment building that is well outside the city. He is spending time fine-tuning the new additions to his arsenal (which is abundant). His neighbors attempt social interaction with him (there is evidence that this has been ongoing) but the Punisher will have no part of it. He is a man of action and few words. He is an appealing, mysterious character to the tenants as he is very focused, very secretive, and a fine physical specimen. As he works he is haunted by flashbacks of his family being gunned down. Increased focus on his weaponry is the only thing that calms him down.
§ A new gun deal is taking place and it is eerily similar to the opening sequence. The difference being that there are more men this time (about 8 per side), all are packing heavy artillery, and the transaction is running much too smoothly for the level of machismo that should be evident. It is a trap. Suddenly the lights go out. The trained assassins that are acting out this gun deal all jump to action in unison firing blindly throughout the warehouse. There is much confusion. The lights come up to reveal the assassins standing in a pile of shells all alive and unharmed except for one man. He is hanging from the rafters quite dead and expertly so. The Punisher has left a calling card. The dead man’s wounds are in the chest area and the blood has been smeared to make a mock Punisher logo. It is quite obvious that the Punisher was looking for only this man.
§ Mob boss is over the edge mad now. He wants to know why his men are being targeted and he wants to know who this Punisher is. One of mob boss’s lackeys comes forth with some evidence. There is a pattern in each of the Punisher’s hits. The men involved in the park shootout fiasco had been present in each of the Punisher’s raids. The lackey speculates that it must be a revenge thing (duh). The bad guys are on their way to tracking the Punisher down. The mob boss is most pleased.
§ The Punisher is haunted by his memories yet again. This time memories of intimate moments with his family are the focus. At this exact moment the neighbors are yet again attempting contact with the Punisher and for a brief moment he lets his guard down and accepts. The Punisher and the neighbors have a socially awkward dinner party. During the party a very large assassin by the moniker the Russian arrives with the intention of killing the Punisher. It appears that mob boss has managed to track the Punisher down. The Russian is all about brute strength and we get to see a showcase of hand-to-hand combat, as the Punisher is unprepared with weaponry. The Punisher is severely outmatched and attempts to bring the fight to his apartment where his vast arsenal awaits but to no avail. The Punisher is forced to use any available “weapon” he can. After a series of unsuccessful attempts the Punisher manages to smother the Russian with one of his neighbors. The neighbor is very fat and is therefore the perfect “weapon” to defeat the Russian.
*This sequence is lifted from the TPB Welcome Back Frank by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
§ The Punisher must accelerate his plans as his identity has been compromised.
§ The mob boss is enjoying a dinner of his own. He is secure in the fact that
the Russian has dealt with the Punisher (the Russian has never failed before). The mob boss isn’t stupid either he still has a small army of armed men guarding his home. The house is a secluded estate. These will be the grounds for the grand finale.
§ The Punisher makes his way through the army of men. The killings are more brutal and less precise. The Punisher isn’t used to rushing. He is still battered from his fight with the Russian and he sustains many more injuries as he progresses through the bad guys. By the time he reaches the rather elegant dinner party the Punisher looks to be on his last legs. He has exhausted his arsenal and is left with a pistol with a couple of bullets and a grenade. It is obvious the Punisher has decided to go out in a blaze of glory taking down the man responsible for killing his family and also ending the troubled existence that was forced upon him.
§ The dinner party turns out to be an intimate family occasion. It is the mob boss, his wife and their child (an obvious mimicking of the Punisher’s family). The Punisher is yet again overcome with flashbacks of his family. The grenade is no longer an option, as it would now result in the deaths of innocent bystanders. The Punisher makes an attempt to use the pistol to kill mob boss. There is too much blood in his eyes to guarantee a clean shot and there is no time to advance as more men are making their way to the dining room to defend their boss. The Punisher opts to shoot out the lights and make his escape.
§ The Punisher goes off to lick his wounds and reflect. He realizes that his flashbacks were a protest of sorts against the idea of bloodlust. His encounter with the mob boss and his family made it clear that it’s not revenge it is punishment. It isn’t the Punisher’s right to inflict the pain that was inflicted on him but it is his duty to stop the people that do. This idea can be summed up in the Punisher’s War Journal (a staple of the comics).
§ Epilogue. The mob boss is now a very nervous man. He has taken up residence in a high-tech compound. There are security fences, security cameras, metal detectors, the works. Suddenly his well-lit office is washed in darkness. The back-up lights come on to reveal the Punisher logo staring mob boss squarely in the face. Fade to black. One gun shot. Credits.
