Welcome To The Punch [Review]

You know how there is a running joke in films that everyone can operate a gun without worry but seemingly cannot hit anyone? Well ‘Welcome To The Punch’, a crime action film starring bankable stars James McAvoy and Mark Strong, takes this to the nth degree and almost descends into parody, with more high powered weaponary in small spaces that apparently can’t hit anybody.

‘Welcome To The Punch’ focusses on the relationship between Max Lewinsky (McAvoy) and Jacob Sternwood (Strong) who in an encounter that opens the film sees Lewinsky almost catch Sternwood but fails and gets a shot knee for his trouble, something that still affects him when the action jumps forward three years. Still smarting from the events of three years previously, he jumps at the chance to get his revenge when Sternwood’s son is captured at an airport after being shot in an attack. What follows is part-chase movie, part-thriller, part-conspiracy film as Lewinsky has to work out who is good, and who is bad, with his colleagues and foes both shifting sides and also becoming fodder for the aforementioned guns when they can hit.

The film does play well as a poster child for Britain. We get sweeping vistas of the London skyline and a cast of actors that reads like a who’s-who of British acting: David Morrissey! Primeval’s Jason Flemyng! Ashes To Ashes’ Daniel Mays! Johnny English: Reborn’s Daniel Kaluuya! Even that chap from the band in ‘Not Going Out’ playing a hairdresser!

As a movie, though, it’s enjoyable enough to watch if a little bit confusing at times, and I pride myself on being able to follow most films pretty well. Its conspiracy and back-stabbing side works well and has several great scenes including one involving a character’s grandmother. But the film ends abruptly and lacks a strong resolution and I felt like it was missing another ten minutes just to tie things up.

But ridiculous gun work aside, the action was engaging, the plot revelatory and the characters relatively interesting, but it did feel like it was tying itself up in knots at the end and substituted true insight for bullets. Lots of bullets. And lacked a strong ending.

(Though at least its slightly mysterious film title was referenced visually rather than shoe-horned into the dialogue)

(6/10)