'Punisher': Through the years

Hollywood, take 2

The Crime: After the success of “X-Men” and “Spider-Man,” Marvel tried again with Punisher, this time turning to “Terminator” producer Gale Anne Hurd and actor Thomas Jane (“The Mist”). Inspired by “Welcome Back, Frank,” the second “Punisher” film was much closer to the mark with writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh (“Die Hard with a Vengeance”) paying tribute to the 1970s action films that helped inspire the character in the first place.

The Punishment: The film still wasn’t very good. Hensleigh struggled to find a consistent tone, which veered from lurid to goofy, often in the same scene. While Jane made a respectable Punisher, the film was pilloried by critics and overshadowed at the box office by “Kill Bill, Vol. 2,” which was released the same day.