National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Lionsgate released The Punisher in April 2004, bringing Marvel's vigilante antihero back to the screen after a fifteen-year absence. Thomas Jane's portrayal of Frank Castle leaned into a grittier, revenge-driven narrative that distinguished it from the superhero films dominating that era. Shot on location in Tampa, the film developed a dedicated cult following and remains a notable entry in the early wave of Marvel adaptations preceding the studio's unified cinematic universe.

This cell, titled Frank Castle - In Action, captures Thomas Jane as Frank Castle mid-confrontation across three consecutive 35mm frames. The sequence shows Castle with a raised pistol in one hand and a second firearm at his side, the slight positional shift between frames preserving genuine motion from a single action beat on the original negative.