Welcome to the Punch

Name: Welcome to the Punch
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Crime
Released: March 27, 2013
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 49
Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Daniel Mays, David Morrissey, James McAvoy, Johnny Harris

2013

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critics

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Ratings

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6.0

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6.0	Your Score
6.0	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Ratings

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WELCOME TO THE PUNCH

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Movie Details & Credits

Not Rated

IFC Films | Release Date: March 27, 2013

Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Daniel Mays, David Morrissey, James McAvoy, Johnny Harris, Mark Strong, Peter Mullan

Summary: When a notorious criminal is forced to return to London, it gives a detective one last chance to take down the man he's always been after.

Director: Eran Creevy

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Thriller, Crime

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 99 min

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Critic Reviews

The Playlist - Oliver Lyttelton

Mar 11, 2013

For most of the run-time, Welcome To The Punch is thrillingly cinematic, beautifully made, smarter and funnier than you'd expect, and a phenomenal showcase for Creevy and his team. Read full review

The A.V. Club - Mike D'Angelo

Mar 27, 2013

Writer-director Eran Creevy demonstrates little facility for kineticism — one of the movie’s best scenes gets flat-out ruined when he abruptly shifts to hackneyed slo-mo — and his cynical plot gets so convoluted that one of the bad guys has to break it down for the audience in a climactic monologue-at-gunpoint. Read full review

The New York Times - Manohla Dargis

Mar 26, 2013

There are good movies and plenty more bad ones and many, many more that fall somewhere in between. And then there are enjoyable absurdities like Welcome to the Punch, which contain evaluative multitudes and which, scene by scene, register as not bad, pretty good and flat-out ridiculous. Read full review

The Hollywood Reporter - Frank Scheck

Mar 27, 2013

Despite its fast pacing and well-staged action set-pieces, the film fails to make much of an impression. Read full review

Village Voice - Steve Erickson

Mar 26, 2013

When bullets aren't flying, the movie offers yesterday's goods in shiny new packaging. Read full review

The Guardian - Peter Bradshaw

Mar 15, 2013

It runs out of steam, with plot revelations visible from a mile away and a bit of a plausibility gap. Read full review

New York Daily News - Joe Neumaier

Mar 30, 2013

Unfortunately, the rest of writer-director Eran Creevy’s film just shows that the Brits, too, make good-looking but empty thrillers, just like in Hollywood. Read full review

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User Reviews

timefire44

Jan 29, 2015

I've watched it before, and it is as awesome as I don't know what. You see, when they did the casting for this film, I knew the found the perfect choice for the lead role in James McAvoy.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

hoops2448

Apr 25, 2013

A good British action film is hard to come by, one that emulates and builds on old school action directors like John Woo and John McTiernan is even harder. Welcome to the Punch is that film and because of that it is delightful. The film follows the events that happen when lifelong criminalA good British action film is hard to come by, one that emulates and builds on old school action directors like John Woo and John McTiernan is even harder. Welcome to the Punch is that film and because of that it is delightful. The film follows the events that happen when lifelong criminal Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) returns to Britain to investigate why his son has been attacked. While there he must contend with disenfranchised police officer Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy), someone Sternwood wounded years prior following one of his final heists. Welcome to the Punch isn't the most intelligent action thriller, in fact it can play quite predictable for a majority of its run time. It's not a film that tries to shock but it does try to impress in its writing (mostly successfully) and its performances (entirely successful), but most importantly the direction by Eran Creevy. The action in the film is sublime with an empty nightclub shootout being one of the finest gunfights since heat. The attention to detail is wonderful which adds a sense of realism to the action. Although John Woo Slow-Mo is used it never really feels out of place and gives the film a Max Payne Noir feel (the game not the film, never the film). Then again the film isn't all action, it's firmly placed in the thriller category as well as the film has an excellent sense of pace allowing for emotional moments as well as some very fast paced developments. It's a film that constantly shifts gears and because of that it is never boring and overall it manages to fit in enough great action moments to be a great movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BrianMcCritic

Jul 24, 2013

This is a solid film that is a basically told as a very familiar police thriller. The acting is good and the film is shot well with good cinematography, but overall it's nothing special. B-

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Apr 9, 2018

Frankly it's an empty thriller considering how long it takes to make sense of its conflict and the plot twist with the protagonists feels unreal and even a little ridiculous. I'm surprised that both James MCovoy and Mark Strong have agreed to make a movie like this one.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DCEdmonds

Nov 13, 2014

"Welcome to the Punch" 10 Scale Rating: 5.5 (Mediocre) ...

The Good: Great performances from McAvoy, Strong, and Harris. Some of their scenes are just flat out awesome and carry the film. The beginning was well done and grabs your interest right off the bat. The Bad: Sadly, it"Welcome to the Punch" 10 Scale Rating: 5.5 (Mediocre) ...

The Good: Great performances from McAvoy, Strong, and Harris. Some of their scenes are just flat out awesome and carry the film. The beginning was well done and grabs your interest right off the bat.

The Bad: Sadly, it struggles to keep your interest and becomes a pretty straight forward crime drama. Runs 1:39 but feels much longer as it slows down quite a bit in the middle and towards the end. The ending wasn't very satisfying.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Mr_NoFace

Sep 16, 2013

The one BIG thing i like about this film is i got to see it before it was in the cinema and that i got to meet the director he was a good laugh(i know this is not a good reasons for me to like the movie so that's why i'm not using it to add my ratings up) Right Welcome to the Punch i didThe one BIG thing i like about this film is i got to see it before it was in the cinema and that i got to meet the director he was a good laugh(i know this is not a good reasons for me to like the movie so that's why i'm not using it to add my ratings up) Right Welcome to the Punch i did enjoy this film but i'm still kind of mixed with it, yeah its a good little action it kept me entertained i do like how the bad guy(Jacob Sternwood) in this film isn't as stupid as a sack of bricks and returns to London for no reason what so ever because he is forced to return to London when his son is involved in a heist gone wrong its also great that they show his crime because then it gives you understanding of what hes done, but this is the real big thing i love about the film its the camera shoots and the grading awh lovely! it looks lovely but its kind of annoying that the rest of the film is not that great like the ending for example its like its an american film with they make two people take on an army with no real struggle that is why i cant stand most american films they make the hero like bloody superman because they have no good ideas oh and they spam there flag every where that's some thing that England doesn't do) but yeah i'm still mixed with it but i still think its better then most american actions… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

hotcheese

May 20, 2013

This is one of the most generic movie I've seen this year. The entire cast is not only unmemorable, they are unlikable. Damn Brits aren't very good at making movie....

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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