Welcome To The Punch

Despite some impressive cinematography, particularly in the opening chase sequence, there’s little in Eran Creevy’s film to stop it feeling like a leftover production from the slew of 1990’s British gangster films. Creevy’s last film was the impressive Shifty, but this is join the dots stuff as a copper (James McAvoy) and crim (Mark Strong) play cat and mouse amongst the streets of London. It has a strong British cast (Morrissey, Mullan, Flemyng), but the acting only reaches The Bill standards throughout. That isn’t a massive negative per se, but it does give the impression that this would have worked better as a series on the BBC. On the plus side, a shootout in a front room provides a contender for the worst directed scene of the year. Remember the parody of NYPD Blue in Father Ted and you’ll be there. Rating: 5/10.