Starring: James McAvoy, Mark Strong, David Morrissey
Critically injured from a shooting incident the night
before, Ruan Sternwood (Elyes Gabel) collapses on an airport runway after
rushing off a plane about to take off. The incident results in Ruan’s father,
Jacob (Strong) to come out of hiding in Iceland to return to the UK. There,
police officer Max Lewinsky (McAvoy) looks to apprehend Jacob Sternwood for a
robbery in which Max was shot in the leg.
If there’s one thing Welcome To The Punch has, its style.
The film noticeably takes its stylistic cue from LA crime thrillers, Drive
(2011) and Heat (1995) (especially the latter, as in both films the central
city, in Punch’s case, London, is bathed in a cool blue light.) Welcome To The
Punch is not in same league as Drive and definitely not in the same league as
Heat. The film does have a good handle on tension and action and, at its best,
it is very thrilling stuff. But the set-up, and the central conceit behind it,
which is revealed towards the end are too over-laden and over-complicated.
However, when this film delivers the action goods, it really delivers.
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