After watching “The Punisher” it is unclear who’s really being punished, the bad guys or the audience.

“The Punisher,” based on a comic book series, amounts to little more than one man’s sadistic response to tragedy.

Building upon each death, the violence reaches such intensity, particularly during the gruesome torture sequences, that it will have many moviegoers squirming in their seats.

Frank Castle, played by Thomas Jane, is a celebrated former soldier who has recently retired from undercover police work to spend some quality time with his wife and son.

After he kills a son of mob boss Howard Saint, played by John Travolta, Saint’s wife, Livia, played by Laura Harring, demands that Frank’s entire family be slaughtered.

Castle is the lone survivor of the tragedy.

Thought to be dead as well, Castle now rebuilds himself and becomes a lone crime vigilante known as The Punisher.

His sole purpose in life is to avenge his family’s death and bring the same misery he has felt to Howard Saint and his family.

There are many problems with “The Punisher,” including a hackneyed storyline that’s been told many times before.

There’s nothing too different this time around, save for a change in costume and locale in Tampa, Fla.

Director Jonathan Hensleigh tries to spice up the dark, gritty story with moments of slapstick and whimsy comedy, but they largely fall flat.

And because we never quite connect with Castle, we don’t root for him or take any satisfaction in his violent revenge. Instead, his violent killing spree comes off disgustingly sadistic and gratuitous.

Jane comes off best playing the strong, silent action hero. Then again, the bar isn’t set too high.

Almost any actor could suggest more depth than Dolph Lundgren, the giant Swede who first played the role in the 1989 B-movie version of “The Punisher.”

John Travolta is cartoonishly awful as Howard Saint. Travolta is such a one-dimensional bad guy that it really doesn’t make sense why the decision was made to cast such a high-profile actor as the villain. All other characters are simply window dressing.

“The Punisher” clearly wants to be taken as a new type of comic book film, one where a real man is the superhero.

Heroism is a poignant theme but not in a bad movie based on a comic book like “The Hulk,” “Daredevil” and “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” get it wrong again. I can’t help but wonder if there are any original story ideas left in Hollywood.

When one of Castle’s friends says “Go with God,” Frank’s replies “God is going to sit this one out.”

I’d advise sitting this one out too.

Grade: D