Before I get started I will say the Thomas Jane one wasn't bad. I actually like it as an action movie.
Now for my reason they never really worked as a Punisher movie. The primary problem is that the film makers want to push the idea that he's a good guy. I know all of them have him actually state that he doesn't think he's a good guy but the rest of the movie tries really hard to convince you other wise.
The reason the comic works is because he is a bad guy, he knows it, and everybody else knows it. He does truly awful things that no good person would even consider doing. The only people he even behaves like a compassionate human being around are the occasional children that pop up from time to time. To everyone else he's generally a cold hearted bastard.
I know film makers want a likeable star but Frank Castle was never meant to be a likeable guy, he's just the monster who gets turned loose on other monsters. He only qualifies as a protagonist because he's slightly less awful than the people he goes after.
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