A tale of two movies

I’m going to describe two movies to you.  I think you’ll guess one of them, see if you can guess the other.

Movie 1 Movie 2
Based on a comic book character Based on a comic book character
Our hero watches as his family is killed by members of a crime gang Our hero watches as his family is killed by members of a crime gang
This turns our hero in to a dark vigilante This turns our hero in to a dark vigilante
He’s male He’s male
He wears black, a lot He wears black, a lot
A young eager crime gang member is elevated to crime lord boss when the boss is killed A young eager crime gang member is elevated to crime lord boss when the boss is killed
Our hero badly disfigures the face of the gang member that is to become the crime boss while trying to catch him Our hero badly disfigures the face of the gang member that is to become the crime boss while trying to catch him
The police while publicly denouncing the vigilante, have at least some members who actually help him out The police while publicly denouncing the vigilante, have at least some members who actually help him out
The facially disfigured crime boss seeks revenge The facially disfigured crime boss seeks revenge
There’s a woman – there always is There’s a woman – there always is
This one, I watched all the way through many, many times, and was critically acclaimed when it was released This one I just switched off half way (maybe less?) through today, because not only was the acting woefully embarrassing, but the story was such a cliche that it made me sad inside.
Cinema Release: 1989 Cinema Release: 2008

5 thoughts on “A tale of two movies

  1. Yep. Can’t believe how bad Punisher: War Zone was. It might be more true to the comic than the previous Punisher movies, but it doesn’t translate well into an on-screen experience. As someone said elsewhere, all the bad dialog of typical 80’s action movies without any of the redeeming features.

  2. I guess it depends on what you consider “typical”. Your “typical” 80’s action movie was pretty bad, as I recall. Chuck Norris. Dolph Lundgren. “First Blood”. “Roadhouse”, anyone?

    The gems stand out because they weren’t typical. Aliens and Die Hard. Lethal Weapon and Mad Max. Top Gun and Under Siege…

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