Welcome to the Punch

[katikat]

Great movie. Fantastic performances all around. Amazing visuals. Very catchy tunes! But the best part? James McAvoy as Max Lewinski and Mark Strong as Jacob Sternwood, hands down.

Gosh, I was so fascinated by their relationship, especially by Sternwood's attitude towards Max. I mean, Max was a cop, determined to catch Sternwood no matter what. Just take the first scene where Max was after Sternwood's crew - they immediately knew it was him, he must have come down really hard on them before the movie even began. And yet, time after time, Sternwood refused to kill Max. Yes, he crippled Max - pretty much inadvertently, though, as proven by the look he gave Max when he caught Max pulling fluids from his knee - but Sternwood only wanted to stop Max, not maim or kill him. And the way he kept saving Max's life. First in the club, then when he frog-marched Max out of the morgue. And then he covered Max during the big shoot-out... Sternwood was really strangely protective of Max, considering. And Max, he knew Sternwood so well, he knew the guy would escape on Iceland, he was after Sternwood like a dog with a bone. And yet... the ending. Gosh, they worked together so well, like a well-oiled machine, they were both always there when the other needed it. Awesome!

Though, I have to wonder. The ending... What happened to Max? I mean, did he have any hard evidence that he just didn't commit multiple homicides? That the cops were corrupt? That he didn't kill Sarah? Or was he simply arrested by his colleague? The cops didn't look all that welcoming when they disarmed him...

Funny thing: Jason Flemyng had a tiny part in this. You know, Azazel from XMFC? And David Morrisey and James McAvoy were together in State of Play already. Tiny world...