Between Atonement, X-men: First Class and Arthur Christmas, James McAvoy has proven to the world of cinema that he has the talent to read minds, score the ladies, and help Santa on an important Christmas mission.
This time around the UK actor will star opposite Mark Strong (Stardust, Zero Dark Thirty) as they fight their way through Eran Creevy’s first big Hollywood film, Welcome to the Punch.
Keep Your Eye on Creevy
If you haven’t heard of Eran Creevy before, no worries, not many have. However, you’ll want to put this guy on your to-watch list.
Serving as producers, both Tony and Ridley Scott took the young director under their wing for the new project, which will no doubt gain him the attention of several production houses, if he’s not already on their short list for several upcoming films.
Back in 2009, Creevy made waves with his indie, low-key drama titled Shifty. Not only did the director and his filmmaking crew receive praise for the film, but audiences raved about Riz Ahmed and Daniel Mayes performance as the lead characters. Shifty focuses on the titular character and his drug-riddled life; several unfortunate events force him to outsmart a rival drug dealer, all while confronting his haunting past.
No Curving Bullets This Time Around
The script, which Creevy also penned was shopped around but never picked up; in 2010, the screenplay even found a spot on the Brit List of Best Unproduced British Screenplays. So what sealed the deal? McAvoy read the script and joined Creevy, which pushed the film through and into production.
McAvoy plays the character Max, a cop with one mission on his mind: to find and incarcerate his nemesis Jacob (Strong), a man who fled the country to escape justice. Unfortunately, when Jacob receives news of his son (Elyes Gabel) being shot, he decides to risk it all and heads back to the states. With inside knowledge about his whereabouts, Max sets out on a mission to finally stop Jacob in his tracks. But judging by the trailer, there’s more to their past, present and future than Max may know.
At first glance, Welcome to the Punch comes off as McAvoy’s breakout film Wanted, which starred Angelina Jolie. Welcome to the Punch does lack the witty narration we received from the take-no-bull Wesley in Wanted; it appears that McAvoy’s playing a much more mature character, one who knows his stuff about taking down a wanted men.
Hopefully, Creevy’s script and storyline can offer us something original, or at least something that adds a bit of spice to the genre. With McAvoy & Strong’s involvement, Welcome to the Punch could skyrocket this up-and-coming director to the lights of Hollywood.
Directed by Eran Creevy, Welcome to the Punch also stars Andrea Riseborough, Jason Flemyng, David Morrissey, Peter Mullan, , Daniel Kaluuya, Daniel Mays and Johnny Harris. This film hits UK & US theaters March 15th, 2013.
‘Welcome to the Punch’ Trailer
