Continuity mistake: When Saints's men are killing Castle's family, there is a shot of Frank and his dad shooting at one of the guys behind the barbecue stand. In one shot Frank and his dad shoot the salad bowl and most of the salad comes out, then in the following shot the salad has magically reappeared. (00:22:30)
The Punisher (2004)
Directed by: Jonathan Hensleigh
Starring: John Travolta, Thomas Jane, Samantha Mathis, Rebecca Romijn, Laura Harring
Continuity mistake: After Frank Castle climbs out of his flipped Pontiac GTO, Harry Heck walks up and points his shotgun at Frank. Frank points a closed switchblade knife at Harry and pushes the button, sending the knife blade flying into Harry's neck. When it switches back to Frank, there is still a blade on the knife, in the open position. After a cut to Harry, it switches back to Frank and the knife blade is gone.
Continuity mistake: When Frank's family is being attacked, Frank and his father are inside the house fighting with some thug hiding behind the barbecue stand. At one point a shotgun shot is visible in the black metal lid on the left of the stand. In the next shot, the lid is intact, and then when the gas bottles blow up, it's shot again.
Trivia: While filming the knife fight scene, Thomas Jane accidentally stabbed Kevin Nash.
Trivia: The guitar player, Harry Heck, is loosely based on the comic character created by Ennis, Dillon, and Palmiotti. His full name is Harry "Heck" Thornton, and he's a southern gun fighter. In the comic, Thornton is an assassin hired to kill the Punisher.
Trivia: Although this is actually the third film to co-star Thomas Jane and John Travolta after "Face/Off" (1997) and "The Thin Red Line" (1998), it's the first in which they share any screen time.
Frank Castle: I leave this as a declaration of intent. So no one will be confused. One. Si vis pacum para bellum. Latin. The boot camp Sergeant made us recite it like a prayer. Si vis pacum para bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war. Number two. Frank Castle is dead. He died with his family. Number three. In certain extreme situations, the law is inadequate. In order to shame its inadequacy, it is necessary to act outside the law. To pursue natural justice. This isn't vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive, it's an emotional response. No. Not vengeance. Punishment.
Candelaria: Vaya Con Dios, Castle. Go with God.
Frank Castle: God's gonna sit this one out.
Frank Castle: Those who do evil to others, the killers, the rapists, psychos, sadists, will come to know me well. Frank Castle is dead. Call me the Punisher.
Question: In the extended version, when Frank confronts Jimmy about his betrayal, why did he make Jimmy commit suicide instead of killing Jimmy himself?
Question: What classic song are Joan and her friends listening to when the Russian and Frank Castle are fighting in Castle's room?
Answer: The song is "La donna é mobile" from the opera Rigoletto.
Question: Would Castle's life have really been saved by jumping into the bathtub before the grenade went off?
Answer: In Season 9, Episode 20 of "Mythbusters," Adam and Jamie tested whether a person could survive a "toilet bomb" (recreating a Lethal Weapon 2 scene) by jumping into a cast iron bathtub and being covered with a bomb blanket. They used 1 kg of C-4 explosives that created a blast with a peak lethal pressure of 180 psi outside the tub. The pressure inside the tub was recorded as a survivable 8 psi, though with probable hearing damage. From what I read, a grenade has a much lesser psi force than what the C-4 explosion produced. Depending on the circumstances, it seems plausible that a person could survive the force and shrapnel while inside the tub.
Answer: It's plausible but highly unlikely. Assuming it's an old metal bathtub (which seems to be the case), it's possible it might have deflected enough of the percussive shock and shrapnel to save him, but unlikely that it'd stop everything. It's one of those things where it probably wouldn't work 90% of the time... but there's that 1 out of 10 chance it could possibly work if he got really lucky and no big pieces of shrapnel came his way. (Plus, stranger things have happened in real life).
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Answer: Jimmy is drowning in massive gambling debt and has had to resort to selling everything of value he owns as well as steal money from evidence lockers to help pay his debt down. He has nothing to live for and is merely going through the motions of life, and coupled with his guilt over selling out Frank and getting his family killed, Frank concludes Jimmy needs to take his fate in his own hands.
Phaneron ★