Trivia: While filming the knife fight scene, Thomas Jane accidentally stabbed Kevin Nash.
Trivia: The guitar player, Harry Heck, is loosely based on the comic character created by Ennis, Dillon, and Palmiotti. His full name is Harry "Heck" Thornton, and he's a southern gun fighter. In the comic, Thornton is an assassin hired to kill the Punisher.
Trivia: Although this is actually the third film to co-star Thomas Jane and John Travolta after "Face/Off" (1997) and "The Thin Red Line" (1998), it's the first in which they share any screen time.
Trivia: Thomas Jane did most of his own stunts. Dolph Lundgren, who played Frank Castle in The Punisher (1989), also did his own stunts.
Trivia: Saint's mansion that is supposed to be in Tampa is actually on Lake Tarpon in Tarpon Springs, Florida, across the bay from Tampa.
Trivia: Professional wrestler Kevin Nash, who portrays the Russian, had long hair for several years prior to making this film. At the time he was working for WWE, and he engaged in a mini feud with Chris Jericho, which culminated in the two competing in a hair versus hair match, with the loser having their long locks cut off by the victor. Nash tipped off that he would lose the match prior to the start by having his brunette hair already bleached blonde to match the Russian's look.
Trivia: Thomas Jane dyed his blonde hair black in order to play The Punisher, and then, ironically, had to wear a blonde wig for the film's opening scene.
Trivia: In the years following its release, the skull logo used in this film had been co-opted by Blue Lives Matter advocates and American far-right conservatives, including some of the Capitol insurrectionists of January 6th. Punisher co-creator Gerry Conway and Jon Bernthal - who would later portray the Punisher in the Netflix series - have criticized these groups for misunderstanding and appropriating the character. Punisher #13, which was released in July 2019, even had a scene that depicted the Punisher beating up and admonishing cops who idolized him.
Answer: Jimmy is drowning in massive gambling debt and has had to resort to selling everything of value he owns as well as steal money from evidence lockers to help pay his debt down. He has nothing to live for and is merely going through the motions of life, and coupled with his guilt over selling out Frank and getting his family killed, Frank concludes Jimmy needs to take his fate in his own hands.
Phaneron ★