Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) is an ex bank robber who
cripples Detective Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy) in a shot out following a
robbery. Sternwood retires to Iceland but three years later he is forced back
to London after receiving a phone call from his estranged son who has been
involved in a robbery that has gone wrong where one man has been killed and
Ruan Sternwood has received a stomach wound.
When Lewinsky hears that his old adversary is back in the capital he
becomes obsessed with catching and arresting the master criminal. The strength
of the hatred the detective has for Jacob is due to a psychological scar left
by the belief that his career and his life has been ruined by the shooting
incident that took place three years ago. Assisted by his partner Sarah Hawks
(Andrea Riseborough) he sets out on a pursuit that will go far deeper than a
simple matter of cops and robbers.
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| What no Bankers? |
This British thriller/crime drama has been written and
directed by Eran Creevy whose promising debut film Shifty (2008)
was very well received. Creevy admits that Welcome to the Punch (2012) is, as
they say, something completely different. It’s sets out to be a cool, slick
action drama set in London that attempts to ape not only Hong Kong action
cinema but also movies like Heat and The Departed. It has a superb supporting
cast including Peter Mullan, Johnny Harris, Daniel Mays, David Morrissey, and
Jason Flemyng, unfortunately most of whom are under used.
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| Another cup of tea son! |
It took Creevy two years to write the story, which at times
is a little far fetched but the set pieces are very well done especially the
opening car chase through Canary Wharf. London’s chrome and steel has never
looked quite so polished, thanks to the smart cinematography by DOP Ed Wild. But
a superficial film that shows the overindulgence of its executive producer
Ridley Scott and would of benefited from a little more grittiness. It was also
a mistake to downsize a large amount of the back-story of our two main characters
that leaves the narrative a little shallow. Creevy skill as a director does
shine through at times with his best scene being the segment that takes place in
Dean Warns grandma’s front room with a stand off between Warns (Harris) and
Jacob, Max and Roy Edwards (Peter Mullan) that ends with a great slow motion
gun battle. Essentially a good B-movie
masquerading as a main feature.
