Welcome to the Punch

Starring: James McAvoy, Mark Strong (‘Sherlock Holmes,’ ‘Zero Dark Thirty’), Andrea Riseborough (‘W.E.’), David Morrissey (TV’s ‘The Walking Dead’) and Peter Mullan (‘War Horse’)

Overcoming political struggles and legal procedures in order to defeat a menacing enemy is an all-too-important objective for both the protagonist and antagonist in the new crime action adventure, ‘Welcome to the Punch.’ Writer-director Eran Creevy aimed to showcase how both law enforcement agents and criminals take whatever means necessary to overcome whatever obstacles their nemesis puts in their way. The filmmaker succeeded in emphasizing that vengeance-driven motivation with distinct cinematography and a carefully orchestrated score. Unfortunately, Creevy’s screenplay didn’t live up to its potential by neglecting to create a cohesive and fully explained storyline, leaving the battle between the two enemies to appear puzzling and unclear at times.

‘Welcome to the Punch’ follows London detective Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy), who is shot in the knee by master criminal Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) during a daring robbery. While Jacob escaped the daring theft, Max is left emotionally and physically scarred, prompting him to vow vengeance on the criminal. Three years later, Max gets a second chance to apprehend his nemesis when Jacob’s teenage son, Ruan (Elyes Gabel), begins following in his father’s footsteps. Ruan ends up in a hospital in police custody after a botched robbery, leading his father to return to England from his retirement in Ireland.

With the help of his partner, Sarah Hawkes (Andrea Riseborough) and his longtime older mentor (Peter Mullan), Max once again becomes engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with Jacob. Max ultimately finds himself in a conspiracy between politicians and the upper reaches of the police department that may involve his chief (David Morrissey). The detective subsequently becomes torn between arresting the clear criminal and bank robber and bringing down the politicians and law enforcement officials who have gone against their oaths of protecting the public.

The dark, imposing visual effects of the daunting relationship between Max and Jacob is intriguingly highlighted through cinematographer Ed Wild’s ominous and skillful use of lighting and colors. With many of the chase sequences between the detective and criminal occurring during the middle of the night, Wild routinely emphasized the dark blue and grey shades in many scenes to draw attention to the two characters’ continued disdain for each other, as well as their own flaws. The cinematographer also regularly hide Max and Jacob in the shadows, particularly when they’re in pursuit of each other, to also draw attention to the protagonist and antagonist’s mistakes.

While the detective is ambitious in wanting to stop the criminal, he is still contending with his own disappointment for not stopping Jacob when they first crossed paths, as well the frustration from his superiors for not following orders during the robbery. Max’s own defiance of authority, a troubling result of his failure to stop Jacob, is also creatively emphasized through Wild’s close-up shots on the detective. Even though Jacob has committed even more heinous and immoral acts than Max, he is still emotionally burdened by the fact that his example put his son in danger, and influenced him to engage in a hazardous lifestyle. Wild intently focused on the robber’s facial expressions and body language during emotional situations, such as when he visits Ruan in the hospital, showcasing Jacob’s growing awareness of the consequences of his actions.

‘Welcome to the Punch’s supervising sound editor, Joakim Sundström, and the rest of the sound department for the film created an intense, powerful soundtrack that effortlessly supported Wild’s cinematography and the powerful emotions motivating Max and Jacob. Sundstrom cleverly alternated between emphasizing the natural sounds of Max’s persistent search for Jacob and the criminal’s continuous elusive ways, such as the screech of the detective’s car as he chases the robber and the gunfire between the two, and an emotionally-driven musical score. The sound editor incorporated profound and riveting orchestra pieces into the natural interaction between Max and Jacob, which effectively stressed the detective’s determination to capture the criminal, and the robber’s misguided attempts to stop the police in every aspect of their investigation.

Though Wild and Sundström impressively supported Max and Jacob’s continuous struggle with each other through the captivating cinematography and score, Creevy unfortunately failed to create a completely cohesive and thoroughly explained story. The writer-director hit the important superficial plot elements of any police crime drama, including Max and Jacob’s clear disdain for the other side of the law, and their equal motivation to do their job to the best of their ability.

However, the filmmaker never truly and fully explained the detective and criminal’s relationship with each other; having started the movie with a visual and literal bang, as Max and Jacob fire their weapons at each other during a high-stakes robbery, Creevy doesn’t satisfactorily elaborate on how the detective became involved in the case, or how Jacob is connected to the scandal within the police department. The writer created two distinct characters with Max and Jacob, emphasizing their respective dedication to their jobs and lifestyles. However, the characters’ motivations could been more relatable and understandable if the film more fully explained their disdain for each other, and how their paths initially crossed.

‘Welcome to the Punch’ is a daring follow-up to Creevy’s award-nominated and acclaimed debut, the 2008 urban thriller ‘Shifty,’ incorporating ominous colors and cinematography and an emotional score to emphasize the intense motivations separating Max and Jacob from each other. While the dark colors and shadows and intense orchestrations play an important role in showcasing the detective and criminal’s hatred for the other’s lifestyle and choices, the plot unfortunately relied far too heavily on the effects to show the conflict between the two. Creevy created two distinct characters driven by their desire to succeed in their job and take down their nemesis, but unfortunately failed to support their motives with a well devised and thorough story. If the filmmaker focused on creating a more detailed plot-line and conflict, the crime action-adventure could have been an equally impressive visual and emotional tale of what happens when two enemies on opposite sides of the law vow to take the other down.

Technical: B+

Written by: Karen Benardello