The Love Punch (2013)

This was an amusing film - but nothing more than that really. In my humble opinion it fell short in a number of ways and missed out on several opportunities to play on the 'middle age/getting older/struggling-to-cope-with-the-modern-world' jokes. When it did do this however, it was very funny - but there were never really those laugh-out-loud moments that one would have hoped to find in a film with a cast of such combined considerable talent and experience. Unfortunately, there seemed to be this constant feeling that the four main actors involved (Emma Thompson, Pierce Brosnan) were holding back and could have done better - although it has to be said that the chemistry between all four (and most especially Thompson and Brosnan as ex-spouses) worked really well. However, the stunning locations of Paris and the French Riviera definitely help with taking your mind off the rather silly plot; I ignorantly didn't realize parts of France are so stunningly beautiful. Emma Thompson in particular does her very best with the weak material, proving, as if I didn't already know, that she is one of the most versatile and talented actresses around.

But, for me, the film's main surprise is Timothy Spall! He was the funniest guy in this comedy, in my opinion he really stole the show from Emma and Pierce together, he had some really funny jokes and his character is really peculiar and strange.. I loved it! Anyway, the script for this film seemed to 'fall between two stalls' as it were and was neither one thing or the other, resulting in a sort of grey hit-and-miss humour and genre. Perhaps it just tried too hard to be clever and witty, and it may have just been a simple case of 'less is more' - it certainly seemed to thrum along at a fair pace and complexity of plot.

Overall rating: 6 out of 10.

Fmovies: Kate (Emma Thompson) and Richard (Pierce Brosnan) are a happily divorced couple, with two well-mannered children, an excellent (platonic) friendship, a comfortable home each, a lifestyle many aspire to and retirement that is pleasantly near. Then Richard discovers an unscrupulous businessman has stripped his company of all its assets and left them, and many of his staff, jobless and unable to pay the mortgage. With retirement on hold, they hatch a plan to exact their revenge and seize back their money. All they need to do is steal his latest acquisition: the world's biggest diamond.

The Love Punch is fluff. It is nonsense, deeply flawed, as shallow and predictable as a stomp in a puddle and unlikely to bother any award ceremonies or be a threat to any hard-hitting movies currently vying for screen space. However, it is also completely inoffensive, mostly fun, occasionally funny and the kind of film you can take the family (including granny) along to without causing anyone any offence. Just make sure you reward your teenagers with something they actually want to see afterwards; they just might need a does of Afflicted to clean the fluff from their brains afterwards.

Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan had apparently wanted to work together for years but had been waiting for the right project to come along. Joel Hopkins, with whom Thompson worked on Last Chance Harvey, granted their wish. Perhaps they should have waited a little longer.

The Love Punch is simplistic, ill thought out and riddled with errors. At one point, director/writer Hopkins has Richard moan "What do you think we are? The Pink Panther?", presumably unaware that the Pink Panther was not the thief but the diamond itself. It is this kind of silly clumsiness that spoils the enjoyment.

Though Timothy Spall and Celia Imrie, as their friends Jerry and Penelope, are welcome additions to proceedings and enable the heist to get underway, the comedy highlights generally occur between Thompson and Brosnan when Kate and Richard are alone and just getting on with their relationship. Most of the stilted moments and embarrassing clunks occur, much like in Brosnan's recent swamp experience, A Long Way Down, when all four are together and trying too hard to be funny.

The Love Punch falls short of the effortless humour and feel great factor of 2011's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel but it is far from being a turkey. It lacks the sharpness required to really satisfy and, with a little more work, it could have been a riot, but it is an easy, enjoyable waste of 90 minutes.

Overall, The Love Punch is like that third mug of tea on a lazy Sunday morning; it's quite enjoyable but you didn't really need it, it doesn't match expectations and you certainly won't remember it this time next week.

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So I this trailer a few weeks a go and I liked what I saw, it looked funny and entertaining. The movie itself isn't too bad either; the story is basically a divorced couple have to venture to France to steal a diamond because the owner has stole all their money via his company. The premise is nice and simple, a tad boring in places as they use one or two cliché scenes that you get in these types of films; the beginning is a bit slow and some of the jokes fall a bit flat but by the time the plot gets going it's quite enjoyable, the humor is classic British humor mixed with some modern stuff as well which makes a nice blend of funny, the characters were a amusing to watch and although I wasn't invested in their troubles I enjoyed watching them go about the heist. The shots were nice as they showed lots of France and gave the feel of it with the French music played over the scenes. All-in-all I think the older generation will get more out of it that than others but as a young person I enjoyed the majority of it.

The Love Punch fmovies. "I will find out what's going on it will just take time. I will make sure that everyone of you gets what they're due. I will not, will not let you down." Richard (Brosnan) is finally at the point in life where he is going to retire. He sold his company and has a comfortable pension coming. When he shows up on the last day he is surprised to learn that the company that bought his is under investigation and every asset they had is frozen. When he tells his ex wife Kate (Thompson) they decide to talk to the man that bought the company. When things don't go the way they want they are left with only one choice. I am a big Pierce Brosnan fan and I really like when he plays a take off of James Bond in comedies. He did that in the Matador. This one does have shades of Bond in it as well. Other then that the movie is hilarious. Brosnan and Thompson are perfect together and I laughed pretty much all the way through. I don't want to talk to much about it because to much would ruin it but not only is the dialog witty with some great running jokes but the soundtrack is awesome. Nothing is funnier then watching four 60 year-olds walking in slow motion into a hotel with I Fought The Law playing. This is one I could just go on and on about but all I'll say is watch this...very funny. Overall, a must see comedy. There is British humor but this is also more main stream. I give this an A-.

23 April 2014 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester Tonight - The Love Punch. A gloriously jolly romp starring Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, Timothy Spall and the marvellous Emma Thompson who is nothing short of a national treasure. This is a lighthearted tale based on a fairly serious premise of a company being taken over and and stripped of it's assets without a single thought of what's going to happen to the employees. With everyone having lost their financial security, Richard (Brosnan) makes a promise to sort everything out and with ex wife Kate (Thompson) he enlists the services of their neighbours (Imrie and Spall) and the computer expertise of their son to embark on an adventure to get back what is rightfully theirs. Set mainly in Paris and the South of France, this film keeps you amused throughout and the four main characters work splendidly together to the gentle conclusion. Great Weymouth reference too!!!

A divorced couple lose everything and so they plan a robbery in order to recover what is rightfully theirs.

This is a light-hearted comedy through and through, the type we are getting more and more used to in seeing the former Mr Bond. One could go on about the insufficient storyline as well as the sheer impossibility of the break-in executed by utter amateurs.

Whilst I stand by the above but to judge it on that basis would be a miss and by treating it as a fun/cheerie comedy about a former couple who have to put up with another in order to salvage their pension and embark on an adventure it will suffice for a somewhat delightful time on the big screen.