There’s nothing very wrong about Welcome to the Punch, but there’s also very little about this urban cop yarn that proves to be anything more than serviceable.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 6, 2022

Tense, beautifully shot and great performances from its male leads, Welcome To The Punch is more than your average British cop film and it's an appreciated addition to the genre.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 21, 2019

Can't avoid feeling like an appetizer before the real meal.

Full Review | Aug 9, 2019

A cinematic love letter to contemporary London, truly capturing the enchanting nature of the capital at night.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 12, 2019

Invariably, Welcome To The Punch succumbs to its revolving murky machinations of cat-and-mouse foreplay that never quite develops into anything percolating or persistent.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 18, 2018

Welcome to the Punch is by no means groundbreaking or challenging as a motion picture, but it packs a lot of (pun intended) punch.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 1, 2018

As a rule, I love James McAvoy with all my heart, but he just isn't cut out to be a scowling, hardened action hero. Too sweet, too downy, never sufficiently unreconstructed enough. I always want to pet him.

Full Review | Sep 4, 2018

It's clear almost immediately that Creevy isn't looking to reinvent the wheel here...

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Dec 30, 2017

Potentially fun for action fans, Welcome To The Punch is ultimately all style rather than substance.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 1, 2017

Welcome to the Punch is a crowd-pleaser with a minimalistic attitude.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Aug 11, 2014

Welcome To The Punch should feel a little grander, like it's on a bigger scale to match the wide-ranging plot.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 12, 2013

What really registers in WELCOME TO THE PUNCH is the chase scenes and the high intensity with which it all plays out.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 3, 2013

Thankfully, a cast of solid U.K. actors pick up the slack, bringing intensity and behavioral nuance to an otherwise airy actioner that feels severely pared down from its original intent.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Apr 19, 2013

When Max finally gets a chance to ask Jacob why the killer didn't kill him when he had the chance, the answer's as unsatisfying as the movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 11, 2013

Fast-paced storytelling can't seem to hide Welcome To The Punch's tastelessly cookie-cutter script, created using material from every action thriller clich you can rattle off the top of your head.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Apr 1, 2013

"Welcome to the Punch" is derivative, dumb fun.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 29, 2013

One straight-faced gunfight after another, signifying nothing.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Mar 29, 2013

Angry men mumble as they point guns at each other in a series of standoffs in Welcome to the Punch, and it almost works.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 28, 2013

Despite its visual polish and fine ensemble, this British police drama is strictly by-the-numbers.

Full Review | Mar 28, 2013

It becomes something of a disquisition on mortality in spite of itself.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Mar 28, 2013