“Dedicated
detective Max Lewinsky is
out to get his man but narrowly
misses his target, resulting in a bullet
in the leg and making him even more
determined to take down an elusive
master criminal —
but he will soon have
to rethink his beliefs in this tough all-
action cops-and-robbers movie about
justice and police corruption...”
MASTER CRIMINAL JACOB STERNWOOD (Mark Strong: Sherlock Holmes; Tinker
Tailor Soldier Spy) has luckily eluded the Police for far too long and he
now wants to do one more job and retire in a hideaway in Iceland.
Dedicated and dogged Police detective Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy: Wanted;
X-Men: First Class) believes in law and order and wants to see Jacob behind
bars. Given a tip-off about a bank job involving the criminal, he pushes himself
to the limit to prevent Jacob getting away, but when he comes face-to-face with
the bank robber he is shot in the leg and Sternwood escapes along with his three
accomplices.
“A breathtaking, fast-
moving and terrifically
watchable British thriller
that will keep you
pinned to your seat...”
Three
years later Max is still suffering from his leg injury but is back on duty with
partner Sarah Hawks (2012 British Independent Film Awards Best Actress winner
Andrea Riseborough: Oblivion). Working very much as a team, they cleverly
second-guess each other and become very close.
Then a young man, Otis Blake, is found floating in the Thames with a bullet
in his head. And, linked to him, another young man, who turns out to be Jacob's
son Ruan (Elyes Gabel), turns up in intensive care after attempting to flee
the country and stumbling off a plane with gunshot wounds to his abdomen.
Amid worsening news about gun crime, Head of Serious Crime Squad Thomas Geiger
(David Morrissey) and Max's boss Nathan Bartwick (Daniel Mays) are supporting
a move to have the Police armed.
The ruthless Robert Wiseman (Robert Portal) is determined to be elected and
uses a gun law issue to boost his ratings, supported by Jane Badham (Natasha
Little), his public relations executive.
Violent criminal Dean Warns (Johnny Harris) has been arrested having been identified
by a security man who then suddenly retracts his statement. Warns' grandmother
Iris (Ruth Sheen) gives him an alibi, saying they were watching a film on television
at the time. The Police have no alternative other than to, albeit reluctantly,
let him walk free.
Meanwhile, Nathan is leading the hunt for Jacob Sternwood and reveals his intentions
to send a team to Iceland to raid his home. Against Max and Sarah's advice,
the raid takes place but fails to net Jacob, who then comes to London and attempts
to visit his son in hospital.
Max sees this as an ideal way to flush Jacob out, but he is yet to realise that
something else is going on of which he is totally unaware. Nothing is as it
seems, and when he realises who the true enemy is it could be too late to save
someone he cares about.
Framed for murder, Max must work together with Jacob to uncover a conspiracy
that is beyond reason. And he must now put his trust in the very man he has
been desperate to put behind bars as he finally comes to believe that corruption
can come at the highest level.
Described as an explosive new action film, Welcome To The Punch is a
breathtaking, fast-moving and terrifically watchable British thriller that will
keep you pinned to your seat. James McAvoy and Mark Strong are utterly believable
as the two adversaries and Andrea Riseborough makes all-too-brief appearances.
A great cast, beautifully shot; Welcome To The Punch demonstrates just
how good British films can be — and this is endorsed by Ridley Scott's
willingness to put his name to the venture. The Western-style shoot-out on the
dock with Canary Wharf in the background is awe-inspiring. Makes you proud to
be British.
Welcome To The Punch also features: Daniel Mays as Nathan Bartwick; David
Morrissey (The Walking Dead) as Thomas Geiger; Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur;
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) as Roy Edwards; Jason Flemyng as Harvey
Crown; Jason Maza as Luke; and Daniel Kaluuya as Juka — hope we
see more of him, too!
Original Music by Harry Escott; Director of Photography is Ed Wild; Produced
by Rory Aitken, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Ben Pugh with multi-award winning
Director Ridley Scott (Alien; Gladiator) as Executive Producer; and Written
and Directed by BAFTA-nominated Eran Creevy (Shifty).
*
The
British cops-and-robbers all-action thriller Welcome To The Punch shoots
onto Blu-ray and DVD in the UK on 29 July 2013. Catalogue Number —
DVD: MP1211D; Blu-ray: MP1211BR. Extras: Behind The Scenes | Q&A With Director
Eran Creevy, Producer Rory Aitken and actor Mark Strong.
"Welcome To The Punch is a breathtaking, fast-moving and terrifically
watchable British thriller that will keep you pinned to your seat" —Maggie Woods
"The British thriller just got cooler" —Shortlist
"Thrilling… Stunning… A knock-out action movie" —Empire
“Dedicated
detective Max Lewinsky is