Welcome to the Punch

Four gunmen emerge from a building in gas masks after a robbery and leave on motorbikes. DI Max Lewinsky sets off in pursuit of the gang in his car. He fails to catch them and suffers an injury after being shot in the leg by Jacob Sternwood, who could have easily killed him.

Three years later, Lewinsky suffers from his wound and has to use drugs for the pain. He works with DS Sarah Hawks, with whom he is on good terms. While escorting the prisoner Dean Warns, an ex-soldier suspected of smuggling weapons, they are met by ambitious Commander Thomas Geiger and DCI Nathan Bartnick who inform them that Warns is to be released due to lack of evidence. A security guard said he saw Warns in a container yard in connection with the offence but has retracted his statement.

Lewinsky learns that Sternwood's son, Ruan, has collapsed on an aircraft runway while travelling under an alias and has been hospitalized. Ruan called an Icelandic landline number before he collapsed, leading a police taskforce to journey to Iceland to find Sternwood. Lewinsky has no faith in this idea, but the police ignore his doubts. They surround Sternwood's property, but he escapes and detonates a booby trap bomb that kills several policemen. Lewinsky suggests that Ruan's location be made public to draw Jacob out of hiding and offers to stay in the hospital with Sarah to await Jacob's appearance. Jacob goes to the hospital to confirm his son's situation and leaves without being caught. Ruan dies shortly afterwards, but this is not revealed on the off-chance that Sternwood will return. Lewinsky tracks down the security guard who retracted his statement, thinking that Sternwood may have forced him to do so, but the guard refuses to help. Sarah follows Warns to the container yard to look for evidence, but Warns intercepts and kills her.

Bartnick is contacted by Sternwood. Bartnick arranges to meet Sternwood at a club to tell him who shot Ruan. Geiger, having tapped the phone call, informs Lewinsky about the meeting. Lewinsky finds Bartnick and Warns are already there, working together. Bartnick and Warns open fire on Lewinsky and Sternwood. Bartnick is fatally shot by Sternwood. Sternwood protects Lewinsky, but, after the gunfight, Lewinsky attacks Sternwood. Sternwood overpowers him and demands to be taken to see his son. Lewinsky complies without revealing that Ruan is dead. At the hospital mortuary, Sternwood is heartbroken and incensed by his son's death. Whilst at the hospital mortuary, Lewinsky discovers that Sarah is dead when he comes across her body on a stretcher.

Sternwood and Lewinsky confront Warns at his house. They tell Warns they know about his collaboration with Geiger and the details of the gunrunning. After a shootout, Warns is taken prisoner and forced to contact Geiger to arrange a meeting at "The Punch", a section of the container yard. Lewinsky and Sternwood force Warns to go with them to the meeting. When Geiger arrives, they ambush him. Lewinsky blames Geiger for Sarah's death and accuses him of complicity in the arms deal among other criminal dealings. Geiger admits "turning a blind eye" on many occasions and implicates a high ranking minister, Kincade. Suddenly armed military contractors from Kincade open fire. Lewinsky kills Warns, and Sternwood kills Geiger. Lewinsky and Sternwood face each other. Lewinsky raises his gun, but recalling the earlier time when Sternwood deliberately did not kill him, allows him to flee. As Sternwood escapes, Lewinsky presents himself to the arriving police.

• James McAvoy as DI Max Lewinsky
• Mark Strong as Jacob Sternwood
• Andrea Riseborough as DS Sarah Hawks
• Elyes Gabel as Ruan Sternwood
• Peter Mullan as Roy Edwards
• David Morrissey as Lieutenant Commander Thomas Geiger
• Daniel Kaluuya as Juka Ogadowa
• Daniel Mays as DCI Nathan Bartnick
• Johnny Harris as Dean Warns
• Dannielle Brent as Karen Edwards
• Jason Flemyng as Harvey Crown
• Ruth Sheen as Nan

The film was produced by Ben Pugh and Rory Aitken of Between the Eyes, who also produced Eran Creevy's debut feature Shifty. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones also served as a producer on the movie with Worldview Entertainment. Ridley Scott and Liza Marshall of Scott Free executive produced the film.^[9] Shooting took place mostly in London, starting 28 July.^[10] Some of the interior and exterior scenes were filmed at London College of Communication in Elephant and Castle in August 2011.^[11] City of Westminster College's Paddington Green Campus was used for the press conference scene.^{[citation needed]}

Welcome To The Punch premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival.^[12] It debuted in third place in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2013, where it grossed £460,000 across 370 cinemas in its opening weekend.^[13] In 2012, IFC Films bought distribution rights for the United States and it opened on 27 March 2013, where it grossed $9,747.^[14][15] It was released on home video in the U.K. in July 2013.^[16]