I haven’t been into comics since high school and never did read The Punisher even then, but I was familiar with the story line of the vigilante whose family is murdered and he sets about avenging them. Ray Stevenson plays Frank Castle and I wasn’t aware of him before this. He apparently is a star in the HBO series Rome which is pretty popular, but I don’t pay for HBO and have never seen an episode. He’s very cool in this film and plays the dark brooding vigilante well. He’s as cold blooded as they come and the massive graphic violence he doles out on screen is rather surprising in this day of political correctness. The gunplay is realistic and Stevenson obviously had training from pros for this part. His use of the M-16 was textbook and the techniques familiar to any SWAT or military ‘operator’. His penchant for Baretta 93R’s was a bit over the top, but it is a film based on a comic book. The supporting characters are well played and the bad guys are classic comic book villains with an evil and black humor bent. This is a niche movie that appeals to a limited comic/action/testosterone heavy audience, but if any of that is your thing, then you’ll not be punished seeing this flick. (Your significant-other may be though. You may have to endure Four Christmases to make up for it and that would be punishment indeed!)