Synopsis

After an arms dealer's family is murdered in retaliation for his undercover work, FBI agent Frank Castle is left for dead. Recovering in secret, he abandons his former life and becomes the Punisher, a heavily armed vigilante determined to destroy crime boss Howard Saint. Castle manipulates Saint's criminal empire from within while waging a methodical campaign of revenge.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film draws primarily from the comic-book stories The Punisher: Year One and Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Welcome Back, Frank, while also incorporating elements from other Punisher stories.

• Although the character is traditionally associated with New York, the production was filmed in Tampa and the surrounding Florida area. Screenwriter Michael France favored Florida because it offered a lower-cost alternative while providing both bright coastal settings and darker industrial locations.

• Principal photography took place in 2003 and lasted 52 days. Locations included the University of Tampa, Fort De Soto Park, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and a golf course at the University of South Florida.

• Thomas Jane initially declined the title role more than once. He became interested after seeing Timothy Bradstreet's artwork for the character, then underwent nearly seven months of training with United States Navy SEALs and gained more than 20 pounds of muscle.

• During the fight with the Russian, Kevin Nash was accidentally stabbed in the collarbone with a blunted butterfly knife after the wrong prop was used. Nash stayed in character, and the take was retained in the finished film.

• A close-up of a bodyguard being struck in the head with a paper cutter was removed after the Motion Picture Association objected that the violence looked too realistic.

• The film received a generally negative critical response and earned about $54.7 million worldwide against a reported $33 million budget. Strong DVD sales nevertheless encouraged development of a follow-up, which ultimately became the separate 2008 film Punisher: War Zone.