Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Punch

Play trailer 1:26 Poster for Punch Released Mar 10, 2023 1h 38m Drama LGBTQ+ Sports Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
79% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Jim is a seventeen-year-old boxer in a small town. He is a golden boy, preparing for a fight that will elevate him to an early professional status. All bets are on his climb to success. But his father Stan is a demanding coach and a notorious alcoholic. In the town Stan is treated like a joke but he has given everything to see his son gain professional status and escape the brutality of his small world. As Jim begins to rethink why he is fighting his life tangles with Whetu, a razor-tongued, gay Maori boy who spends his days in an old shack down by the beach. With his dog Moimoi he cobbles together a fragile glamour and dreams of leaving town to become a musician. As Jim stumbles towards discovering what it really is to be a gay man, he is forced to see that strength has little to do with heroism.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Punch

Critics Reviews

View All (19) Critics Reviews
Cath Clarke Guardian It’s a delicate film with a pair of lovely, natural-feeling performances from its two leads. Rated: 3/5 Nov 8, 2023 Full Review Noel Murray Los Angeles Times Ings does a fine job of capturing the instant connection between these two young men and in conveying Jim’s combination of excitement and terror when he realizes this bond could evolve easily into a romance. Mar 10, 2023 Full Review Kyle Turner New York Times Flowing and keenly observant of its characters and setting, “Punch” swings above its weight class. Mar 9, 2023 Full Review Rich Cline Shadows on the Wall Writer-director Welby Ings makes the most of the setting's natural beauty and the toxic masculinity that oozes throughout the premise, both of which add layers to the characters. Rated: 3.5/5 Nov 21, 2023 Full Review Ben Turner The Pink Lens Drenched in the cold light of the seashore, these two opposites find themselves in each other. And alongside them, we fall in love with them both. Rated: 4/5 Nov 9, 2023 Full Review Darryl Griffiths Movie Marker Punch could benefit from being more studied in its attack, but the collective efforts of its committed ensemble make it worth going a few rounds with. Rated: 3/5 Mar 13, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (9) audience reviews
Jeremy C Wistful, touching and honest. It's a great flick to cuddle up on the couch and watch. The acting (and chemistry) by the two leads is tremendous and Tim Roth anchors these as an alcoholic father you can't help but feel for. The infatuation between Jim and Whetu nails the coming-of-age vibe and the small town homophobia feels real, though the hate crime did feel a little too shock and awe. The whole endeavour was pretty great until the last 10 minutes, where it suddenly goes an off the rails. Whilst the end is sweet, it feels a bit half baked. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/16/24 Full Review Jerod S It's a cluster of family dysfunctionality with a resolution that looks really lonely. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/24 Full Review Paul M Beautiful photography and natural scenery compliment some assured acting, special note for Tim Roth. However the story is a very well trodden path with no surprises and takes way too long in getting there. Opportunity lost most definitely. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/27/23 Full Review Gullible T I really wanted to like this film. The actors were good, but the story left me wanting something a little bit more. The ending wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. I think Jim became the videographer that he wanted to be; and I think Whatu became the singer/songwriter that he had planned to become. I'm not sure that it told me anything other than what I already knew about narrow minded society, especially in this small local insular community. The brutality of the rape scene shocked me, because hidden amongst these insular and prejudiced Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/15/23 Full Review antonio s A truly convincing tale of a man whose life is divided between his boxing career and his love of another man. It ties the super testosterone-filled world of boxing with homosexuality and it makes it fit perfectly. The only issue, as a boxing connoisseur, that I can personally have is the fact that regional title fights do not take place in old farm barns without any television coverage. This clique of boxing fights taking place in small, dirty, non-descript places is as old in Hollywood as the scene depicting Rocky fighting Spider Rico in a church, and it presents boxing in an unreal manner, although one can perhaps say it presents something of the unseen, dark side of the sport. The aspect of men and small-town people hating homosexuality as presented in this movie is something we can all relate to also in the modern times. And so is the aspect of the father who is willing to overlook his own prejudices to put his son's happiness first. Once again, Tim Roth picked a winner! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/04/23 Full Review PETER W I thought this was a pretty good prize fight movie even though there iis only one scene at the end when the main character actually fights. It's also a film about a father-son relationship in which the father who previously fought, tries to make his son into a good boxer. Finally, there is a gay relationship thrown in. I liked the film but I thought the plot was a bit farfetched. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Punch

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

The Inspection 88% 91% The Inspection Watchlist TRAILER for The Inspection Minyan 93% 58% Minyan Watchlist TRAILER for Minyan Blue Jean 96% 92% Blue Jean Watchlist Wildhood 100% 80% Wildhood Watchlist TRAILER for Wildhood Really Happy Someday % % Really Happy Someday Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Jim is a seventeen-year-old boxer in a small town. He is a golden boy, preparing for a fight that will elevate him to an early professional status. All bets are on his climb to success. But his father Stan is a demanding coach and a notorious alcoholic. In the town Stan is treated like a joke but he has given everything to see his son gain professional status and escape the brutality of his small world. As Jim begins to rethink why he is fighting his life tangles with Whetu, a razor-tongued, gay Maori boy who spends his days in an old shack down by the beach. With his dog Moimoi he cobbles together a fragile glamour and dreams of leaving town to become a musician. As Jim stumbles towards discovering what it really is to be a gay man, he is forced to see that strength has little to do with heroism.
Director
Welby Ings
Producer
Robin Murphy, Catherine Fitzgerald
Screenwriter
Welby Ings, Welby Ings
Distributor
Dark Star Pictures
Production Co
Robin Murphy Productions, Punch Productions, New Zealand Film Commission, Yellow Affair, Prospect Films, Blueskin Films Ltd.
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+, Sports
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 10, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 10, 2023
Runtime
1h 38m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
Most Popular at Home Now