Thomas Jane, the star of the detested (by me) Punisher film from 2004, decided to make his own Punisher fan film for kicks and giggles. It’s actually pretty damn good – even if Punisher is a little slow in dealing out punishment.

Thanks to Xavier for the tip. My thoughts after the jump.

I have nothing but complete and total respect for people who make their own superhero fan films. If I had any skill at all in making movies, or people who could work as a production team, I would try to make some of my own. I even have respect when Hollywood professionals make a fan film. Because actors and actresses are not like us. They don’t see these characters the way we do, they seem them as roles. So when an actor can geek out about as character as much as the rest of us, I love it. Like that one actor whose name escapes me who made his own Luke Cage fan film in hopes of getting the role.

Or Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. That guy has earned my total respect in that he recognizes how much playing Wolverine has done for his career, and how he wants to stick with and acknowledge the character. Some might say Jackman should step aside and let someone else try it out – but I have no problem with him playing Wolverine as long as he wants. He’s awesome in the role, and he respects it.

So it’s cool to know that Thomas Jane loves the Punisher so much.

I hope he has Punisher pajamas

That fan film is well made, well-acted, and the violence is fantastically brutal…when it finally happens. Jane plays a good Punisher. My only problem with the fan film – titled Dirty Laundry – is that he takes freakin’ forever to start dishing out punishment! Frank Castle does not look upon someone being beaten up by gang bangers and then go on his way. Even if he has laundry to do. Frank Castle does not need a pep talk from a shopkeeper to deal out punishment. That is his mission, and he does not waiver in his mission!

Still, when he gets to the punishing part, it’s top notch.

It also helps that I don’t blame Thomas Jane for The Punisher in 2004. I’m confident that it wasn’t his fault that the producers or whoever completely butchered the character.

Now I am not someone who gets his panties in a twist whenever there are changes to a character between the comic book and movie – at least not aesthetic changes. I don’t mind changes in costume or changes in team line-up. Those aren’t a big deal to me. Even changes to the origin, like how in both Hulk movies, Bruce Banner wasn’t caught in a gamma bomb explosion. No biggie.

It’s when they completely change the point of the character that I get pissed off. I wrote about this before, but I’ll sum it up here: Frank Castle was a victim of unfortunate circumstance. It was completely random, almost by accident, that his family was killed. So when he becomes the Punisher and starts killing all criminals everywhere, he’s punishing all of them for what happened to his family. In The Punisher in 2004, Frank Castle and his family are specifically targeted by the bad guys. And then it’s their incompetence that he survives. Then when he becomes the Punisher in that film, he specifically sets out to get revenge against the same bad guys that killed his family.

He’s not called The Revenger.

There are a million movies in Hollywood about a guy who gets revenge on the people who killed his family. Why did Hollywood turn Punisher into that?

Anyway, like I said, I don’t blame Thomas Jane for that crappy movie. And this new fan film has definitely earned him some nerd points in my book. I wouldn’t be disappointed if they recast him in any future Punisher films.