Welcome To The Punch

Welcome to the Punch is an action thriller film released in 2013! Directed by Eran Creevy, and starring James McAvoy, Mark Strong, and Andrea Riseborough; the film follows a young DI (McAvoy) who has become something of a laughing stock in the Metropolitan Police force, due to his action several years earlier, after he failed to follow orders, and apprehend wanted criminal Jacob Sternwood (Strong). Back in the present day, the DI is partnered up with an up and coming detective (Riseborough), and together they discover that Sternwood might be on his way back to the UK. Meanwhile, a conspiracy is a foot, one which could cause huge ramifications if leaked!

With a budget of $8.5 Million, it is one of the more expensive releases that you are likely to find produced solely in the UK in an average year. The film was actually featured in a list of unproduced British film scripts, placing third in total.

Welcome to the Punch is an interesting film with some cool moments, but despite being labeled as an action thriller, it’s setup leans more toward drama. This doesn’t mean that the film is lacking action, there is a lot of it, but quite a bit of time is taken setting up characters and narrative routes. The film features a stellar cast of major British names familiar to both TV and Film. Names include: Elyes Gabel, Peter Mullan, David Morrissey, Daniel Mays, and Jason Flemyng. Once the story and plot takes off, it really begins to fly, but ruins the atmosphere by killing off the best character at the film’s midway point, which is both harrowing, and just Anger Inducing!

The film’s many subplots go down some interesting directions, and create ideas and suggestions whilst asking some good questions about modern policing; but then these sort of get lost between all the other lines of the film, ending with a rather anti-climactic position. But where it loses the audience in narrative, it does make up for in it’s incredible action sequences, ranging from James Bond style situations, to great gun fight sequences.

Welcome to the Punch is an interesting film, and definitely one worthy of at least a first watch if not more; but your experienced might be slightly mixed due to it’s composure; but at the same time it is weirdly good; and definitely a stand out movie. It also has a pretty Awesome trailer!