Welcome to the Punch (2013)

I didn't find the narration engrossing enough or particularly interesting, but it's still a solid and very stylish thriller with some punchy action scenes (which also include some slow-mo jumping parts Max Payne would appreciate). The main character is an unsympathetic and boring hothead and the story is all over the place and hard to follow at first, but they bring it on the plate at the end.

Although the movie contains a lot of predictable Ridley Scott violent action, the subtlety of the performances turned in by James McAvoy (always good) and Mark Strong is remarkable. McAvoy plays a cop named Max and Strong the bandit Sternwood, who wounds Max in the getaway after a heist as the movie opens. He shoots to wound, not kill, Max.That said, it is Mark Strong's acting that is the focus of this review. I was not familiar with him or his work, but apparently he is always cast as a villain. The duplicitous and convoluted plot of "Punch" sets up McAvoy as the protagonist and Strong the antagonist, with other characters having little to do except cause Max and Sternwood physical pain and mental anguish.Despite all the mayhem and noise, however, Strong (Sternwood) steals the scene from McAvoy twice, first with a sentence and a look, and later with just body language and a look. Quite amazing really. See for yourself.

I really wanted to like this movie better than I eventually did.The setting and camera-work is top drawer. The script a bit less so. The clichés are at a manageable level.....But the film never really suspends disbelief. James McAvoy is part of the reason for that. Despite his nominations and awards Mark Strong delivers a far more powerful performance IMHO, and Andrea Riseborough is the best of the three leads, portraying a mouthy in-your-face uncompromising detective perfectly, and managing to avoid all the cliché traps that litter American movies featuring female detectives.The script, though, is the main culprit I fear. It's a jumpy tale, delivered staccato and with the various gaps sometimes I was left wondering if I was watching a flashback sequence.....and No I wasn't. The viewer is left to fill in the gaps by himself, and catch up as best as he can. And develop and fill in the back-story preceding this movie for himself.There are the usual set pieces of The Clever Hero detective struggling under the terrible limitations and appalling decision-making of his politically aware but otherwise Dickhead management team. A team which somehow seems to have misplaced the 774 Police Officers who operate exclusively in the square mile of the City of London. Although I guess our hero wouldn't be such a hero if he had the customary backup of the local Plod.So an OK Film. With some really nice elements. It just needs deeper writing. The Long Good Friday it isn't. So if you can gloss over the limited script you can still enjoy the visual delight of the camera work and the performances of Strong and Riseborough.

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.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/