What I liked about the first one was the focus on low-budget action. No over-the-top computer effects, just decent mano-a-mano slugfests and lots of bullets. This was a movie in the vein of Bronson and Eastwood, not the current crop of Michael Bay action-blockbusters. Tom Jane did a very good job, too, in my opinion the best superhero adaption until Bale's Batman.
They should've kept to the original story, though. The one with the female maffia boss who gets fed to tigers. Much better villain than Travolta...
I'm not really sure about Pullo. I don't think I've seen the actor outside of Rome. He has a decent stubble going on and certainly can be mean. But there always was some kind of naivety in his face, something that doesn't quite fit for the Punisher. Some of that was attached to the role of Titus Pullo, but part of it came from Stevenson's looks.
BTW, I think that Tom Jane would make a great Captain America, if they ever decide to start filming that movie...