Welcome to the Punch

'Welcome to the Punch' is a solid idea that becomes a little overblown for its own good in the final act; clearly inspired by the crime classics like Mann's 'Heat', it doesn't pull it off as well. That and some pacing issues aside though, the terrific performances from a top-notch who's who British cast, including James McEvoy, who only has one obvious accent slip in the entire film, Andrea Riseborough, who can do anything, and the brooding, incredible Mark Strong, who almost steals the thing doing little more than looking around. Stylish to within an inch of its life, the fantastically brooding score to match the fantastically brooding faces on screen, and the gorgeous photography carry it through with unexpected panache. Nothing you don't expect, but basically what 'The Sweeney' wanted to be.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Officer Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy) is still reeling after an encounter where he failed to snare career criminal Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong), who's now retreated to Iceland, but is forced to come out of hiding when his son is mortally wounded, along with another boy who was killed. Desperate to catch his formerly illusive prey, Lewinsky closes in on Sternwood, but they find themselves working together when they find each other stalked by the same enemy.

Sleazy politicians and corrupt arms firms are at the heart of Welcome to the Punch, a Brit action thriller with an overload of style but a serious short change of substance. Eran Creevy's film is littered with nifty production values and slick editing, but can't hide what a formulaic, predictable ride it is all the way. Despite trying to respect the viewer's intelligence with a fairly intricate plot, the clichés are no less in evidence.

One of the many other, far superior films that springs to mind is Heat, in terms of the style the film is aiming for, and so we have McAvoy and Strong at each respective end of the desperate, determined cop/illusive prey end. Pacino and De Niro they are not.

It's got an all star Brit cast, some fluid action sequences, everything, it seems, but real heart. And without that, what can you do? **

The plot has several twists and turns, and thriller elements are catchy to follow - but it seems, however, that the screenwriter was very eager to add sophistication and all this resulted in a series of unlikely and strained scenes. Heists are seldom carried out with stylish clothes and technology in-sync, and ambitious corruption is not a sign of the UK police force - to name a few odd things... The ending scenes and the very end are scheming as well.

The male cast is strong and even, particularly James McAvoy as Max Lewinsky, Mark Strong as Jacob Sternwood and Peter Mullan as Roy Edwards. Female characters tend to be sketchy and were uninviting to me.

Although no Boyle or Ritchie, Welcome to the Punch is still more than a B-film. Violence is not playful, crime is gloomy and good persons tend to die as well...

I've been waiting to see 'Welcome to the Punch' ever since I heard about it (and managed to miss its cinema release). Mark Strong is such a talented actor. I've seen him in a few films which weren't very good, yet his performance has made it worthwhile. Then you have James McAvoy, who always turns in a great performance no matter what he's in. How could I lose? I did. Welcome to the Punch is billed as 'Britain's answer to Heat.' If that's the best we can do, I think we should let Hollywood win on this one. This is nothing like Heat. Never before have so many talented - British - actors been assembled and produced something so average.

I won't say it's bad, just totally mediocre. It's about policeman, James McAvoy, seeking revenge on the gangster, Mark Strong, who shot him during a previous robbery. Nothing special plot-wise, but with such a good cast you should expect them to make something more out of it. However, the best part of the film was the way it's filmed. London has never looked so cool and stylish, plus it seems to be shot using some sort of blue/green filter to give it all an ultra-cool look.

If you really want to see another British gangster movie then this one isn't bad. Then again, perhaps it's worse than bad - it's disappointing.

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Inspired by Hong Kong 'heroic bloodshed' flicks, this hardnosed cops 'n' robbers tale certainly lives up to its name. James McAvoy's supercop exhibits a dogged intensity in his hunt for Mark Strong's antiheroic supercrim. During their heated cat-and-mouse game, the two uncover a conspiracy much bigger than their own dispute.

The two leads keep things moving along nicely with their ambiguous dynamic, with a supporting cast of familiar faces picking up back-end duties rather nicely. Special mention must go to Shane Meadows favourite Johnny Harris who, as a cold-blooded ex-military henchman, exudes a barely-restrained predatory animalism, familiar to those who saw him in This is England '86. Top performances, decent pacing, and an ending which refuses to settle it all in quite the neat and tidy way one would expect.