10 Most Intense Comic Book Movie Performances Ever
8. Ray Stevenson As The Punisher
Frank Castle has a spotty history on the big screen. The first time the Death Wish-inspired vigilante appeared in a film was the campy direct-to-video adaptation that was mostly shot in Australia, starring Dolph Lundgren as The Punisher, on a shoestring budget. The second was slightly better but still not perfect, Thomas Jane being a little too nice for the part. Then there's the totally underrated Punisher: War Zone from 2008, which began life as a sequel to the Jane version before director Jonathan Hensleigh and his lead actor walked away from it. At that point it became another reboot, but a much needed one, with Lexi Alexander taking over the directing job. Alexander's brutal eighties action style was perfectly matched with Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle, the TV veteran being the first time that the one-man army waging a war on organised crime was actually believable. As believable as such a thing is, anyway. The film was mostly panned, but Stevenson's performance is hard to argue with.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
