'The Love Punch' is not very good. But it's harmless. You might even like it.
Pierce Brosnan, Emma Thompson, Timothy Spall and Celia Imrie is a pretty good cast. It just is. And there The Love Punch - a Great Marigold Hotel style movie set in the Cote d'Azur probably should work - but it hasn't really.
Pierce Brosnan [L] and Emma Thompson [R] in 'The Love Punch'
It stars ex-husband and wife Richard and Kate (Brosnan and Thompson) whose biting banter suggests the flames of their former relationship have not been fully extinguished. When their retirement nest egg is wiped out when Richard's investment firm is defrauded, the divorced duo travel to France to steal a $10 million diamond ring from the financier behind the scheme. Of course, Spall and Imrie play the couple's former neighbours who are roped in to assist the heist.
"Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan deserve better than this creaky heist-caper comedy from 'Last Chance Harvey' director Joel Hopkins," Charles Gant of Variety.
"You haven't seen cringeworthy till you've seen a group of mature British actors in granny-beige M&S slacks doing the Reservoir Dogs walk," wrote Cath Clarke of Time Out.
Timothy Spall [L], Celia Imrie, Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan [R] in 'The Love Punch'
"Tonally wonky, comedically creaky and confuses light-as-a-soufflé with just plain silly," wrote Jane Crowther of Total Film.
"Brosnan and Thompson seem hell-bent on a good time, but Joel Hopkins' broad, lazy script is no sparkler," said Siobhan Synnot of the Scotsman.
"There's herbal teas that hit harder than The Love Punch," said Henry Barnes of The Guardian.
During a recent interview with The Telegraph, Brosnan explained his feelings on the movie, saying, ""It was enormous fun. No acting required. Just show up and have a good time, really."
The Love Punch hits cinemas in the UK on April 18, 2014.
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