If the cacophony of gunfire unsettles you, consider this your warning—Havoc, Netflix’s latest action thriller, unleashes an unyielding barrage of bullets that will leave even the steel-nerved trembling. But for aficionados of grandiose carnage, where shotguns and assault rifles paint the screen in crimson arcs and bodies convulse in balletic slow-motion, Gareth Evans’ gritty neo-noir is a masterclass in operatic savagery.
Fans of the Welsh auteur’s bone-crunching Indonesian martial arts spectacles, The Raid and its sequel, will find this particularly electrifying.
From Bronson to Inception, The Dark Knight Rises to Mad Max: Fury Road, Tom Hardy has long been a maestro of explosive, hyper-stylized violence. Here, as the world-weary homicide detective Walker, he channels that expertise with brutal finesse—whether wielding firearms, fists, a rusted pipe, or what appears to be a grotesque fishing hook.
Release Date: Friday, April 25
Cast: Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, Forest Whitaker, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Luis Guzmán, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang
Director-Screenwriter: Gareth EvansRuntime: 1 hour 47 minutes
Tom Hardy slips effortlessly into the role of Walker, a brooding, disillusioned cop navigating the drug-infested underbelly of an unnamed American metropolis’ Chinatown. His magnetic gravitas and formidable presence elevate what could have been a clichéd archetype—the jaded lawman, corroded by corruption and abandoned by his family—into something far more compelling.
Evans’ films have always prioritized relentless action over intricate plotting or profound character development, and Havoc is no exception. The narrative stitches together familiar tropes—some verging on stereotype—and not every twist is neatly unraveled. But as a relentless onslaught of meticulously choreographed violence, it excels.
Walker’s opening monologue reflects on choices made in the name of family—decisions that seem justifiable until they spiral into irredeemable damnation. A botched drug bust leaves him haunted, muttering, “It takes everything. Your family. Your friends. Yourself. And then you’re left with nothing but ghosts.”
The film erupts into motion with a frenetic chase—cop cars pursuing a stolen truck laden with washing machines, hurtling through neon-lit streets. One particularly audacious stunt involves hurling a washing machine at pursuing officers, landing Walker’s former narcotics ally Cortez (Serhat Metin) in intensive care. Tensions flare with Vincent (Timothy Olyphant), the duplicitous new head of the narcotics unit.
The truck thieves, Mia (Quelin Sepulveda) and her boyfriend Charlie (Justin Cornwell), are entangled with Lawrence Beaumont (Forest Whitaker), a real estate tycoon running for mayor on an anti-crime platform. The washing machines conceal a kingpin’s ransom in cocaine, meant to settle a debt with Tsui Fong (Jeremy Ang Jones), a smug Triad boss. But before the exchange concludes, masked mercenaries storm the scene, slaughtering all but Fong’s lieutenant, Ching (Sunny Pang).
Evans employs a clever narrative device—Walker reconstructs the massacre only upon arriving at the scene with Ellie (Jessie Mei Li), his reluctant new partner. Discovering Charlie’s involvement, Walker warns Beaumont of impending gang retaliation, revealing their murky history. Though Walker insists their dealings are over, Beaumont holds leverage—and a desperate desire to reconcile with his estranged son.
The stakes skyrocket with the arrival of Clarice (Yeo Yann Yann), Fong’s ice-cold matriarch, flanked by her own death squad, including a nameless Assassin (MMA fighter Michelle Waterson, radiating menace).
While the characters may feel archetypal, the casting injects fresh vitality. Li shines as Ellie, initially dismissed as dead weight but proving herself tenacious and shrewd. Waterson and Pang bring martial arts prowess, while Whitaker chews scenery as the morally bankrupt mayoral hopeful. Olyphant oozes slippery charm, and Guzmán steals scenes as Mia’s scheming Uncle Raul.
The film’s pièce de résistance is a nightclub massacre—a delirious orgy of bullets and blades, set to pounding techno. It’s The Raid meets John Wick, a whirlwind of kinetic brutality. Aria Prayogi’s brooding score amplifies the chaos, evoking Carpenter-esque synth dread.
Evans wears his influences proudly—from John Boorman’s Point Blank to John Woo’s The Killer. A standout sequence features the Assassin’s motorcycle brigade ambushing Beaumont’s limo to the surreal strains of Bing Crosby’s “O Holy Night.” The climax—a siege at Walker’s lakeside cabin—is pure, unrelenting pandemonium.
With Tom Hardy commanding the screen and Evans’ signature balletic violence, Havoc delivers exactly what it promises: a relentless, blood-drenched spectacle. Matt Flannery’s cinematography thrums with neon and shadow, painting a city that exists only in perpetual night.
If you crave visceral, inventive carnage, Havoc is your fix. Just don’t expect to come up for air.
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