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I saw this a couple hours ago in Fullerton, CA. I was a reader of the comic, and am a fan of what we've seen from Marvel lately. This movie is just what I wanted, and what I expected.

Ray Stevenson is perfect as Frank Castle, and everyone else is at least good enough for an action movie. Dominic West is over the top as Jigsaw - which is what Jigsaw should be! A horribly disfigured mob boss with a vendetta is not a subtle thing to begin with.

As for the "respectable" critics' complaints: 1. Violence: Of course it's violent! What part of the title "Punisher: War Zone" implies peaceful conflict resolution? He's not the "Admonisher". The gore and violence is not at the level of a "Saw" film, but it is high. It is rated "R" for a reason.

2. Dialogue: I think the critics have been spoiled by "Dark Knight" and "Iron Man". Those were comic-book movies with extraordinarily good dialogue. "Punisher: War Zone" is no worse than a "Predator" or "Rambo: First Blood". Not great, but not awful. This is not supposed to be "Hamlet".

3. Script: The story moves along well, and when there's a break in the action (which isn't very often), the film doesn't drag- it's always going somewhere. Not perfect, but good. Much better than the critics have made it out to be.

All in all, a good time, and one that I'll buy and re-watch as soon as it comes out on DVD.

I saw Ghost Rider today , matinée price, and left the theater satisfied. GR was a colorful, simple, COMIC BOOK movie. It was not brainy, or deep - go see Babel if that's what you want. For a quick, light, good time, this will do just fine. Nic Cage works as Johnny Blaze ( I thought he'd look way too old, but he was believable). Sam Elliot was great as the Caretaker, Eva Mendes was good as Roxie, and everyone else was acceptable or better. The actual Ghost Rider effect was well done. This movie was better than Daredevil, not as good as any of the X-Men movies. Don't listen to the critics who trashed this film- they're allergic to fun. This won't win an Oscar, but hey, fun movies usually don't. I'll buy this on DVD.

I just got back from a Wednesday afternoon showing, and have to say I'm relieved. Having seen (and loved) the first two Superman movies, and having suffered through the third and fourth, this should definitely be grouped with the first two. While it's not equal to Donner's classic, it's close in quality to Superman II.

The key to this film's success is the characters. The effects are great, the story is acceptable, but the emotion between Superman, Louis, Lex Luthor, and all is what makes the movie. Singer and Routh do a great job of depicting a being who is pretty much invulnerable physically, who could take whatever he wanted if he chose to, but instead suffers his broken heart with quiet dignity.

Action sequences are top notch, and epic all the way. The humor is there (I would have liked a bit more), the dialogue is there (it always is in a Brian Singer production - see "House" on Fox). The pace was a little off from my perspective - it seemed just a little slow.

I recommend Superman Returns. It's not a classic, but it is definitely worthy. I can't wait until the next one. Brainiac? Metallo? Maybe Gilbert Godfried as Mr. Mxyzptlk? After this, I'm looking forward to it.