Welcome to the Punch
Welcome to the Punch | |
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![]() UK cinema poster | |
Directed by | Eran Creevy |
Written by | Eran Creevy |
Starring | James McAvoy Mark Strong Andrea Riseborough |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Momentum Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $8.5 million[citation needed] |
Box office | £1.12 million[1] |
Welcome to the Punch is a British action thriller released on 15 March 2013 by Momentum Pictures in the UK and Ireland. Written by Eran Creevy, the script had been placed on the 2010 Brit List, a film-industry-compiled list of the best unproduced screenplays in British film. With seven votes, the film was honored with third place.[2][3] The film is directed by Creevy, starring James McAvoy, Mark Strong, and Andrea Riseborough.[4][5]
Synopsis
Welcome to the Punch relates the story of a former Icelandic criminal Jacob Sternwood (Strong), who comes out of hiding, in an effort to save his son when a heist goes wrong. Sternwood is the one man that London detective Max Lewinsky (McAvoy) has always been after. During their cat-and-mouse game, the two become unlikely allies, working together to expose a deeper conspiracy. Solve it, they live; fail, they die.[5]
Cast
- James McAvoy as DI Max Lewinsky
- Mark Strong as Jacob Sternwood
- Andrea Riseborough as DS Sarah Hawks
- Elyes Gabel as Ruan Sternwood
- Peter Mullan as Roy Edwards
- David Morrissey as Commander Thomas Geiger
- Daniel Mays as DCI Nathan Bartnick
- Johnny Harris as Dean Warns
- Dannielle Brent as Karen Edwards
- Jason Flemyng as Harvey Crown
- Ruth Sheen as Nan
Production
The film was produced by Ben Pugh and Rory Aitken of Between the Eyes, who also produced Eran Creevy's debut feature SHIFTY. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones also served as a producer on the movie with Worldview Entertainment. Ridley Scott and Liza Marshall of Scott Free executive produced the film. Shooting took place mostly in London, starting July 28.[6] Some of the interior and exterior scenes were filmed at London College of Communication in Elephant and Castle in August 2011.[7] City of Westminster College's Paddington Green Campus was used for the press conference scene.[citation needed]
Release
Welcome to the Punch premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival.[8] It debuted in third place in the UK on 15 March 2013, where it grossed $692,000 (£460,000) across 370 cinemas in its opening weekend.[9] In 2012, IFC Films bought distribution rights for the United States,[10] and it opened on 27 March 2013, where it grossed 9,747 domestically.[11] It was released on home video in the UK in July 2013.[12]
Reception
The film received a mixed critical reception. Rotten Tomatoes sampled 48 reviewers and judged 50% of the reviews to be positive, with an average score of 5.6.[13] The site described the film as "a little deeper and more thoughtful than most police dramas – but not quite enough to surmount its thinly written characters and numbing violence".[13] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 49 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average" reviews from 16 critics.[14] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated it 2/5 stars and called it an ambitious but predictable film that "runs out of steam" by the end.[15] Emma Dibdin of Total Film rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "There’s an emotional vacuum at its centre but Welcome To The Punch is an adrenalin shot to the heart of the Brit-crime genre."[16] Dan Jolin of Empire rated it 4/5 stars and called it "a confident, ambitious and action-rich Brit thriller, albeit one whose characters and clarity suffer from the frantic intensity of its pacing."[17] Guy Lodge of Variety described it as "a proficient but personality-free policer that demands little of either its audience or its enviable best-of-British cast".[18] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "But despite its fast pacing and well-staged action set-pieces, the film fails to make much of an impression."[19] Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times called it "derivative, dumb fun".[20] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote that it is an "enjoyable absurdity" that is unintentionally funny yet still recommended.[21]
References
- ^ "The UK box office January - March 2013" (PDF). BFI. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ "The Brit List 2010". Industrialscripts.co.uk. 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
- ^ Dawtrey, Adam (2010-11-06). "Brit List spotlights unproduced gems - Entertainment News, Film News, Media". Variety. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
- ^ "James McAvoy hits kerb filming car chase scenes for Welcome to the Punch". mirror.co.uk. 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
- ^ a b "James McAvoy cast in Welcome To The Punch". Britmovie. 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2012-01-26). "Welcome To The Punch". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ "Film star McAvoy on set at LCC". Arts London News. 2011-10-25. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
- ^ Sweeney, Samantha (2013-01-30). "Joss Whedon to attend Glasgow Film Festival". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ Sandwell, Ian (2013-03-18). "Oz the Great and Powerful holds firm at the UK box office". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy (2012-07-18). "IFC Films takes US rights to Welcome To The Punch". Screen Daily.
- ^ "Welcome to the Punch". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ Kermode, Mark (2013-07-27). "Mark Kermode's DVD round-up". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ a b "Welcome to the Punch". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to the Punch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (2013-03-14). "Welcome to the Punch – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ Dibdin, Emma (2013-03-07). "Welcome To The Punch". Total Film. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ Jolin, Dan. "Welcome To The Punch". Empire. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (2013-03-15). "Film Review: 'Welcome to the Punch'". Variety. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (2013-03-26). "Welcome to the Punch: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ Abele, Robert (2013-03-28). "Review: 'Welcome to the Punch' lacks just that yet still entertains". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (2013-03-26). "Smooth Operators Slink Into the Desolate Night". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-04-06.