Have any of you out there seen The Punisher?  Not the Dolph Lundgren ‘masterpiece’ (I use that term very lightly), but the Jonathan Hensleigh directed, Thomas Jane starring film?  If you have, you know it is not great by any stretch of the imagination.  If you haven’t seen it, it is a very mediocre take on the Marvel character of the Punisher.  It was not horrible, just kind of middle of the road.

The one great thing about the movie, though, was Thomas Jane’s take on the character.  He brought an intensity and vulnerability to the character that neither Lundgren (obviously) or Ray Stevenson (The Punisher: War Zone) did.  Those two were almost like machines, whereas Jane played the character as tortured and lost.

At Comic Con, Jane revealed this little fan film.  Jane said this about the short:

 ”I wanted to make a fan film for a character I’ve always loved and believed in – a love letter to Frank Castle & his fans. It was an incredible experience with everyone on the project throwing in their time just for the fun of it. It’s been a blast to be a part of from start to finish — we hope the friends of Frank enjoy watching it as much as we did making it.”

Have a look.  This is something special:

And yes, that was a cameo by Ron Perlman as the liquor store clerk.

Now, who wants to see a sequel starring Thomas Jane?  I know I do.  (Actually, I want a sequel starring Ray Stevenson, too.  The Punisher: War Zone is a guilty pleasure of mine.  I actually like it more than Jane’s film.  But I love Jane as Frank Castle.)