Over the last half-decade or so James McAvoy (Atonement, X-Men: First Class) has proven himself to be one of the most relatable young lead actors currently making a name in the film world. Conversely, Mark Strong (The Guard, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) has spent his time playing a steady stream of dastardly villains. What would happen if you took the positive and negative forces of these two guys’ careers? It turns out you’d get a trailer for an action movie called Welcome to the Punch, and, honestly, the results look to be pretty generic.
Sure, this movie seems to be full of enough gun fights and explosions to keep your attention, and there’s a mystery about some scribblings on a hand to add some extra intrigue, but other than that Welcome to the Punch seems to be the same urban crime drama with tough cops and slick robbers scowling at each other—all presented in an icy blue color palate—that you’ve seen a thousand times before.
McAvoy and Strong are both great actors, however. Will their presence be enough to make this one a success? We’ll have to wait and see on that front. But you would think that, at this point, their presence should be enough to get film fans in the door. After that it will be up to the slow-motion gun battles and exploding buildings to keep us there. Good thing gun fights and explosions are so cool.
Welcome to the Punch opens on March 15, 2013. [The Sun]