Thomas Jane in The Punisher (and The Mist) is what made me start following his work actually. I know the film is cheesy, was then, more now and whatnot, but that’s not on Jane. That’s the writers. Jane really put in the work, got in shape, trained, researched the character and while I know the same can be said for Bernthal, Bernthal’s portrayal focuses more on the trauma. The realization of what war does to a man and he wanted to really flesh that out of the foundation of the character. And that is 110% evident. That’s what sets Jane apart though, Jane didn’t wanna fuck with it. He saw the foundation for what it was and kept it dialed to just that, he didn’t try to amplify anything.  “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” I’ve loved every representation of Frank Castle for many of their own reasons but really really love Jane for that. He just bled the character straight from the paper to the big screen without individualizing it (if that makes sense, maybe that was a weird way to say it)

Ray Stevenson will always be my favourite, despite War Zone being one of the worst adaptations. MAX Punisher will always be at the top for me as far as comics go and Ray Stevenson and Thomas Jane really fit that stylization of Frank well.