Review: Welcome to the Punch

by A.J.

Welcome to the Punch opens with detective Lewinsky, played by James McAvoy, in hot pursuit of elite criminal Jacob Sternwood, played by Mark Strong. Sternwood escapes, Lewinsky is wounded in the knee and spends the next 3 years falling down the ladder of the London police department. When Sternwood’s son is caught up in a heist gone wrong, he comes out of hiding to try to save his son giving Lewinsky another chance to capture his nemesis.

Better movies have been made with simpler premises, so I’m hesitant to blame the material. It seems that just not enough was done to keep the story energetic and moving. There is more behind that heist gone wrong, but the build up to that reveal is a slow one. Characters at many different levels of the London police department, as well as criminal underworld are introduced. You might guess that they all intersect; eventually they do. In the meantime we have a cool blue-tinged London and a police department that only employs people under 35.

Whether from the 1960s or the 21^st century, I really enjoy gritty British crime movies. There is enough interesting camerawork and good performances to keep the first two thirds of this movie from being unbearably dull. Things finally pick up in time for the final shootout; which is a good one, very intense and action packed. Welcome to the Punch is gritty in tone more than visuals and in its better moments reminded me of The French Connection and L.A. Confidential, but ultimately falls short of being a notable entry in the gritty British crime genre.