Havoc (2025)
Director: Gareth Evans
Starring: Tom Hardy, Forest Whitaker, Timothy Olyphant, Jessie Mei Li
Primary genre: Action
Secondary genre: Thriller
Seven years have passed since the ultra talented Gareth Evans had a feature out. An action director first and foremost, Evans did not capitalize on the momentum of “The Raid” (2011) but instead made motion pictures with large intervals of years between each one. “Havoc”, a movie that was supposed to come before a specific virus sent the world into the spiral of madness in the early 2020s was inevitably delayed until now. Lacking surprisingly any marketing campaign, “Havoc” unfortunately falls victim to the typical Straight-to-Netflix problems. The streaming giant is releasing lately a lot of cookie cutter flicks all displaying the same visual look with famous and popular actors cashing out easy paychecks.
“The way I see it, your son shit the bed so bad you’re gonna need a magic wand to clean this up.”
Thematically speaking, Evans’ sixth flick is easily his weakest. While in all his previous work, there has been strong characterization on both lead and minor roles amidst engaging storylines, here everyone is simply part of a telegraphic plot of misconceived revenge and shady police proceedings that can be guessed from a mile away. Any potentially intriguing dynamics between the villains are left unexplored while supposedly key individuals are dispatched so fast that you will be either laughing your ass off or grabbing your hair in frustration. It’s all beneath the feet of a filmmaker of this caliber especially a let down of a climax which pretends to have some sort of catharsis but moves emotionally no one.
Those in dire protection from Hardy’s tough homicide detective - a Latina and a politician’s son - are walking cardboards despite a promising initially premise. The biggest disappointment though comes from the antagonists who serve purely as action fodder; a Malaysian dragon lady is an inspiring choice but her motivations (and manipulation) are too simplistic echoing the waste that was Choi Min-sik in Luc Besson’s “Lucy” (2014). Meanwhile the corrupt cops (who are on the opposite path in a good turn of events) are the same old stuff we’ve seen in hundreds of movies before lacking a menacing presence, psychological dimensions or memorable scenes. It’s all rests then on dear old Tommy’s shoulders then. He makes a typical role his own with the script offering him a bit of room to breathe although when you dig in, do limit your expectations.
Evans directs his unnamed metropolis as if it is a modern day Gotham City taking stylistic flourishes from Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” (2022) and Robert Rodriguez’s “Sin City” (2005) - the long tracking CGI shots at the opening car chase are an interesting albeit distracting touch. The cinematography of Sara Jones and Matt Platts-Mills captures decay and corruption in a Christmassy atmosphere which is further elevated by Evans’ gimmicky lengthy shots occasionally giving the film a comic book panache.
However, what “Havoc“ lacks in a compelling story, it makes up for it with its brutal and visceral action, an area where Evans showcases he is truly the best in business right now. There is a degree of amusement for the display of such bleak and nihilist disregard for life: fish hooks, poles, knives, shotguns, cleavers and more are used in effectively nasty and gasping ways to kill off hundreds of minions inside areas which get absolutely wrecked in the process. Even though “Havoc” does not have as much action as you would have expected it to do so due to the director’s credentials, the stuntwork and martial arts choreography are breathtaking; an extended set piece inside a club between all parties under a delirious soundtrack by French Electro master Gesaffelstein is a contender for the sequence of the year while watching Hardy doing convincingly most of his moves is a joy after the barrage of CGI crap Hollywood blockbusters present.
“Havoc” is unfortunately a step down the quality ladder for Evans’ filmography. Dealing subplots with murder instead of reliable character work is not a wise move, considering how simpler but better constructed outputs Evans has done. But when the movie focuses on carnage, “Havoc” is unparalleled and relentless exceling barely under a physically imposing anti-hero.
Blunt cinematic havoc
+Incredible action
+Good cast
+Awesome soundtrack
+Hardy is always reliable
+Evans has a talent for on-screen mayhem
-Subplots go nowhere
-Wasted talented actors
-Zero surprises
-Car CGI is distracting