'Havoc' Netflix Review: Tom Hardy & Gareth Evans Deliver The Best Action Movie Of The Year Yet

Gareth Evans announced his entry into the action genre in the severely underappreciated but insanely enjoyable Merantau, a movie that came to be because he was making a documentary on silat and was really impressed by the skills of a guy who wasn’t even an actor… Iko Uwais. Evans went on to collaborate with Uwais two more times, The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2, and those films pretty much changed the action scene forever. And although that second film ended on a cliffhanger, Evans never really got to complete that trilogy. He did a made-for-Netflix film titled Apostle, which certainly had its moments but was underwhelming overall. Then he went on to develop three seasons of the best action TV series, Gangs of London, for Sky Atlantic. So, I was a bit apprehensive about his return to Netflix. But, having watched Havoc, since this is the closest thing to The Raid 3 that we are going to get (until Evans gets the money & inspiration he needs to actually complete the trilogy), I’m a happy customer.

Gareth Evans’ Havoc opens with a drug heist conducted by Charlie, Mia, Wes, and Johnny, who are in a truck full of washing machines, while two cop cars are hot on their tail. After making it to the freeway, the robbers start throwing said washing machines at the cops, and they manage to get away. While officers Jake, Vincent, and Hayes walk out of the situation relatively unscathed, Cortez gets seriously injured. Some time later, Charlie and Mia arrive at Tsui’s den to sell those drugs, but the transaction is interrupted by three masked gunmen and Tsui is killed. Charlie and Mia somehow make it out of there alive, but since the gunmen are nowhere to be seen, they are painted as murderers. This is where homicide detective Walker comes in, and he instantly recognizes Charlie as Lawrence Beaumont’s, a corrupt politician who has Walker on his payroll. In an attempt to cut his ties with Beaumont, Walker promises to deliver Charlie to him and call it even. However, Walker isn’t the only one who is after Charlie. Tsui’s mother, an influential member of the Triads, the police, and those gunmen have him in their sights too. Whether or not Walker and his young assistant, Ellie, will be able to get to Charlie before the rest is what forms the crux of the story.

It’s pretty easy to say that the premise of Havoc is basic enough to create a platform for Evans and his team to showcase the kind of jaw-dropping action that they are famous for. While that is kind of true, I feel that it’s a bit of an understatement because Evans’ screenplay is quite layered. Right on the surface, you have a story about a mother and a father who have failed as parents trying to reckon with the mistakes of their respective children. It’s an interesting take on the “sins of the father” trope that has been done to death. Then there’s a story of institutional corruption and how the very people who should be there to “serve and protect” us are unleashing unimaginable levels of violence on the city, thereby blurring the line between cops and thugs. Then there’s the topic of miscommunication due to language barriers, cultural divides, or just the lack of patience to listen to the other person, and how that can exacerbate any situation. And finally, you have Walker, who is stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of sinning and atoning, which is wrapped up in a way that I have not seen in any of these “man on a mission” narratives in a long time. I wish more movies ended like that so that we’d learn that one act of righteousness isn’t enough to make somebody a hero.

Now, Evans takes his merry time establishing all of the aforementioned plotlines and themes. So, for the first 40-50 minutes, you kind of have to tolerate some grating dialogue writing, cinematography, editing, art direction, production design, CGI, VFX, and sound design. I am sure if the dialogue was better, you wouldn’t have even noticed how underwhelming some of the verbal interactions are, but since it isn’t, yeah, it’s really noticeable. Thankfully, at around the 50-minute mark, when Walker enters a nightclub and the characters commence a relentless chase, Havoc becomes one of the best action movies of the year as well as a damn good Christmas movie. I love Matt Flannery’s camera-shaking technique because it highlights the unique blend of nervousness and anger of Evans’ action sequences. The punches, the kicks, the falls, the gunshots, the chases—it’s all so visceral, surreal, and engaging. There’s a moment with a harpoon gun that’s so gnarly that it should belong in a slasher flick. And while Evans has incorporated slow-mo shots in his movies before, he goes full John Woo for this one, and it is epic. Everyone, from the stunt choreographers to the actors, deserves a massive round of applause for all the amazing work they’ve done here. Truly stupendous!

The performances from the cast of Havoc are excellent. Tom Hardy is kind of becoming the go-to actor for tough guys. I mean, just look at his last few non-Venom projects: The Bikeriders, MobLand, and now this. Do I mind it? Absolutely not! Hardy is great at playing this kind of character. I have been following this guy’s work since Layer Cake, and it’s delightful to see him on the screen giving it his all to entertain us. I can say the same about Timothy Olyphant. That’s my Agent 47, man! And seeing him do that quintessential Gareth Evans style of fighting is genuinely nuts! Jessie Mei Li is a favorite amongst Netflix subscribers because of her work in Shadow and Bone, and I can guarantee you’ll levitate off your seat seeing her pull off all kinds of complicated moves with a shotgun. It’s nice to see Forest Whitaker, Narges Rashidi, Sunny Pang, Yann Yann Yeo, Tom Wu (I know him fromRa.One; we are not the same), and Luis Guzman in this joint, but I wish their roles were a little more meaty. Out of the newer faces, Quelin Sepulveda, Justin Cornwell, and Michelle Waterson (who has been doing stunts for a while now) really impressed me. As for the supporting cast and all those actors playing nameless characters who get decked in the most violent ways imaginable by Hardy, Olyphant, and the rest of the main cast, you have my utmost respect.

Look, I am going to be very honest here: this is a really biased review. Gareth Evans is one of my favorite action directors of all time. Tom Hardy is one of my favorite actors of all time. I love action films. And I have been dying to see Havoc since it was announced. Do you know when it was announced? In 2021! That’s also when the movie had apparently wrapped up filming. Then there was no news of it for the next 4 bloody years. I thought that it had been shelved for some reason. Finally, Evans informed us that, due to COVID-19, the SAG-AFTRA strikes, and scheduling issues (because the cast had committed to different projects in the last few years), he’d been unable to do reshoots. Being the perfectionist that he is, he couldn’t release the film unless he was satisfied by it, thereby preventing it from fading into the background of all the half-baked “action” films on the streaming platform. So, I think a major reason why I enjoyed watching Havoc is because I was way too excited for it, and I am thankful that, after being stuck in development hell, it is as good as it is. Well, if that sounds like a recommendation, go ahead and watch it, and then share your thoughts in the comments section below.