An ordinary lawman goes outside the law to carry out his own brand of justice in this dark-themed thriller. Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) is an FBI agent who deeply loves his wife and son, but is also strongly devoted to his work. Castle's investigation of a powerful crime cartel leads to a gunfight which claims the life of a young boy, whose father is underworld kingpin Howard Saint (John Travolta). Furious and eager for revenge, Saint arranges for Castle and his family to be murdered in retaliation. However, while Castle's wife and son are killed, he somehow survives, even though he's believed to have perished. Bent on stopping Saint once and for all, Castle remakes himself as The Punisher, a ruthless and heavily armed killing machine who will not rest until Saint and his crew have been wiped clean from the Earth. Based on a Marvel Comics character first introduced in 1974, The Punisher also stars Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Laura Elena Harring, Roy Scheider, and Kevin "Big Sexy" Nash.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide