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Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP Ministry) www.capalert.com/ Entertainment Media Analysis Report A service to His little ones (which includes at-home teens) through you, their parents and grandparents, in His name by His Word MAR24038  (2004), R |
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 (2004), R -- more than 48 examples of violence or murder per hour.  Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Punisher Productions, Marvel Enterprises, Lions Gate Films Inc., Partnership Films Distribution (US): Lions Gate Films Inc. Director(s): Jonathan Hensleigh Producer(s): Ari Arad, Avi Arad, Christopher Eberts, Kevin Feige, Andrew Golov, Andreas Grosch, Gale Anne Hurd, Stan Lee, Amir Jacob Malin, Chris Roberts, Richard Saperstein, Andreas Schmid, John H. Starke Written by: Michael France, Jonathan Hensleigh Cinematography/Camera: Conrad W. Hall Music: Carlo Siliotto Film Editing: Steven Kemper Casting: Pam Dixon Production Design: Michael Z. Hanan Art Direction: John Dexter, John Hansen, Steve Saklad Viewed At: Driftwood Theater 6 In this latest Marvel comic book to big screen adaptation, recently retired FBI agent Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) ends up with more than he had planned for retirement to a desk job in London. His last undercover operation was a major arms deal bust in Tampa, Florida with Germans headed by Otto Kreig (who was Castle undercover). During the ensuing melee Bobby Saint (James Carpinello), the son of a major money-laundering boss [Hab. 2:9], Howard Saint (John Travolta) was killed at the hands of the FBI. Saint blamed Castle for his son's death. Saint vowed to end Castle's life. [Rom. 12:19] Through the rear right window of his limousine, Saint ordered Quentin Glass (Will Patton), his chief aide, to kill Castle. Before Saint could roll up the window, Saint's wife, Livia (Laura Harring) ordered Glass to murder every last one of Castle's family. [Gal. 5:21] Castle's immediate family was wife, Maria (Samantha Mathis) and son, Will (Marcus Johns). Frank Castle, Sr. (Roy Scheider) and wife, Betty (Bonnie Johnson) were to be included. And were. An opportunity to comply with Saint's wife's orders presented itself since a Castle family reunion was coming up in Puerto Rico. At that family reunion every last Castle was toppled. Except one -- Frank Jr. After killing most of the bad guys [Prov. 3:31-32], Frank Jr. chased down the bad guys who were chasing his wife and son. After wrecking their SUV, Maria and Will escaped on foot to a dock where the bad guys, which included John (also James Carpinello), the second son of Howard Saint and brother to Bobby whose death at the hands of the police started this whole thing, murdered Maria and Will by running over them. Witnessing the murders, Castle, full of bullet holes, went after the bad guys but was out of ammo. John Saint pumped one more bullet into Castle's chest while another bad guy set the dock on fire. That was the end of Frank Castle, Jr. Or so John Saint thought. [Mark 7:21] And that was supposed to justify the rest of the show in which the title character, with single-minded fixation, sought revenge for the murder of his family. [Rom. 12:19] Oh, excuse me. It isn't vengeance. It's punishment. According to Castle anyway. By the way, that T-shirt Castle is wearing on the poster art with the famous modern art skull on the front was a gift from his son. How poetic. Castle has no super powers nor any unusual abilities beyond top-notch police work and academy conditioning. Just the mother of all drives. That is the only thing that kept Castle going and focused. jealously consumed by the one thought - to kill those responsible for his family's death. [Prov. 6:34 - 35] After recuperating at a rundown shanty, Castle launches his campaign of vengeance -- er -- punishment. I gotta get that straight. Maybe I already do? Some of the characters Castle meets along his path of vengeance is recovering drug addict and waitress Joan (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) who lives in the same nearly condemned apartment building as Castle. Even on the same floor. At opposite ends of the hallway. Joan has a boyfriend with a bad attitude which Castle properly adjusted. "Properly" if it is vengeance that consumes one's waking days. At any rate, that boyfriend won't be back. His tail is probably still between his legs. Also in the same apartment building and also on the same floor, between Joan and castle are pseudo chef Bumpo (John Pinette) and perforated Spacker Dave (Ben Foster) with at least four loops of steel poking through parts of his face. The rebellion statement made by facial piercings was well made. [Is. 30:1; 1 Cor. 15:33] Dave seemed to be the cowardly wimp. However, when Quentin Glass started yanking the facial piercings out of Dave's face, a strength and projection appeared in Foster's voice that maybe made him undercast in this part. Saint launches a number of campaigns to kill Castle. One of them was The Russian (Kevin Nash). A mountain of a man who seemed impervious to every counter attack Castle could launch. Except one. Another attempt on Castle's life was from a Johnny Cash wannabe Harry Heck (Mark Collie) who sings a ballad to Castle while Castle eats a meal at a diner. Heck leaves with a comment to Castle that he will be singing that song at Castle's funeral. Heck later caught up with Castle after Castle wrecked his souped-up GTO and pointed a closed switchblade knife at Heck. Heck told Castle he should not have brought only a knife to an assassination as he leveled a sawed-off shotgun at Castle. In moments, Heck laid dead on the street. Like South Park: BLU with its cartoon format, that The Punisher is based on a comic book places it, too, in a special appeal. To kids. But there are few R-rated films that are more "R" than The Punisher. Violence saturates the film in several places and ways. It is astounding how many ways to kill can be generated by the human mind. There are 31.0 examples per hour of violence and/or crime (nearly all were violence) in The Punisher. Foul language, though quite offensive, was not as thick as in many R-rated films. [Prov. 8:13] Sexual immorality was limited to excessive cleavage, a couple flashes of upper female nudity and a couple instances of the presence of homosexuality [1Cor. 6:9-10]. Jane demonstrated on several occasions abuse of alcohol [Eph. 5:18]. Vengeance and the use of God's name in vain (though without the four letter expletive) [Deut. 5:11] were the main reasons Offense to God lost 29 points. But murder was as thick as flies at a cattle auction, 17.1 examples per hour. There are more than 48 examples of violence or murder per hour in this two hour film.
SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ]. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. ***Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry*** As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
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 Wanton Violence/Crime (W) Impudence/Hate (I) Sexual Immorality (S) Drugs/Alcohol (D): Offense to God (O) Murder/Suicide (M) |
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| There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our more than eight years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
| In the name of Jesus: Lord, Master, Teacher, Savior, God. Tom Carder President ChildCare Action Project (CAP): Christian Analysis of American Culture 100% dependent on your tax-deductible financial support |  |