Although they often pop up in major Hollywood projects, James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class, Atonement) and Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, John Carter) returned to the latter’s homeland for a smaller UK project and today we’ve got the first look at the results. While the above still, which was released way back in January of this year, could seemingly be from a car commercial, Welcome to the Punch is actually a slick action thriller that sees a back-and-forth battle with the aforementioned duo.

Written and directed by rising Brit filmmaker Eran Creevy (Shifty), the first trailer has quite a polished look to it and certainly hints at a strong future for the director. While there’s not much in the way of story, it’s difficult to turn down a seemingly fun actioner that sees these two talented actors facing off. Check out the trailer below from The Sun (via The Playlist), as well as a clip, for the film also starring Andrea Riseborough, David Morrissey, Peter Mullan, Elyes Gabel, Jason Flemyng, Daniel Kaluuya, Daniel Mays and Johnny Harris.

Synopsis:

Former criminal Jacob Sternwood is forced to return to London from his Icelandic hideaway when his son is involved in a heist gone wrong. This gives detective Max Lewinsky one last chance to catch the man he has always been after. As they face off, they start to uncover a deeper conspiracy they both need to solve in order to survive.

Welcome to the Punch lands in the UK on March 15th and will see US distribution later in the year thanks to IFC Films.