1,475 days. That’s how long I’ve been waiting for “Havoc” to arrive on Netflix. Or put another way, that’s 2,124,000 minutes, which is enough time to watch last year’s butt-numbingly long “The Brutalist” more than 9,879 times.
Back in April 2021, I wrote on this very website that “Havoc” would likely release “in a year or so.” My movie math was clearly way off because four years later, Netflix finally dropped the Gareth Evans-directed action-thriller movie, and it’s now streaming for all.
Having watched the Tom Hardy-starring adrenaline-booster, I can confirm it was more than worth the wait. While “Havoc” may not quite be of the same gold standard of Evans’ “The Raid” franchise (to note, “The Raid 2” is my favorite action movie ever), this deliriously entertaining, and deliciously pulpy, actioner is Netflix’s best original movie in flippin' ages.
Its messy narrative holds it back from true greatness, but when the punches start flowing and the bullets rain down from all angles, “Havoc” offers a level of cinematic excitement that very few action movies can match. It’s a new Netflix movie that doesn’t just request your immediate attention, it positively demands it with all the force of a high-caliber round.
John Wick, eat your heart out
I’ll cut straight to the bone here, when it comes to “Havoc,” it’s the jaw-dropping action sequences that make this action-thriller merit a viewing. Remember that epic nightclub scene in the first “John Wick” movie? “Havoc’s” showdown on a dingy disco dance floor makes Mr. Wick’s look like a friendly tussle between old pals.
Gareth Evans has always had a masterful talent for crafting blisteringly beautiful on-screen carnage (again, see “The Raid” movies as evidence), and with “Havoc,” he conducts a symphony of brutality. Oh, don’t get me wrong, this is one brutal movie, but it’s also admirable in its commitment to so much chaos. For action movie fans, it’s dream stuff.
“Havoc” balances multiple combatants, an entire arsenal of weaponry and even separate locations seamlessly. Its action sequences aren’t presented in single-shot format, but they flow so well they almost feel like it. And just when you think “It’ll never top that moment,” another bone-crushing hit comes along and surpasses it. Time after time after time.
It’s a rare movie where, watching alone in my home office, I actually audibly guffawed at the sheer brilliance of some of the savage kills. Of course, I also winced a whole bunch, but that’s all part of the Evans package. I wouldn’t say “Havoc” contains his best fight scenes, but it’s perhaps his most consistent movie, with each one of a high baseline quality.
From a slick opening car chase (bar some ropey CGI in spots) to the grand finale — a snowy shoot-out that proves there are innumerable angles to shoot from — “Havoc” doesn’t for a second let up across its breezy runtime. It makes 1 hour 50 minutes feel like barely 90.
A city brimming with crime (and convolution)
OK, let’s backup a moment, because at this point, you might be thinking, what is “Havoc” actually about?
The elevator pitch is pretty snappy: Tom Hardy plays a homicide detective named Walker with a very chequered past, and the scars to show for it. On a mission to locate a corrupt politician’s son, he finds himself squaring off against just about everybody as he carves his way through the criminal underworld and unearths various dark conspiracies.
While “Havoc” is never for a moment boring, and wisely never gets too bogged down in the minutiae of its narrative, things do get a little messy. So many competing factions and powerful players are brought to the table that it starts to feel like that spoof scene from “Anchorman” where groups of news crew combatants keep appearing one after another.
The unnamed American city where “Havoc” is set also has a strange, but appealing, Gotham City-like quality about it. There’s even a mayoral candidate promising to “clean up” the place.
In fact, the opening car chase scene has big “The Batman” energy. The streets of this location don’t feel plausible (or even located within North America, most of the movie was shot in Wales), but this setting straight out of a comic book only adds to “Havoc’s” overall heightened tone. I wouldn’t ever want to live on the blocks Walker calls home, but I had a wonderfully thrilling time visiting them for an evening.
Welcome back, Tom Hardy
As for Hardy, while Walker isn’t a role that exactly challenges the English actor, I’m just thrilled to see him back in a quality movie. Bar a supporting turn in last year’s underwatched “The Bikeriders,” it’s been almost a decade since Hardy starred in a movie that I would consider unequivocally good. (I did not like the “Venom” trilogy. Not at all.)
Hardy does channel a little bit of his performance as Eddie Brock in “Havoc,” but Walker is significantly toned down, and with Brock’s alien symbiote pal and exaggerated ticks shaved off, we’re left with some great deadpan delivery and a character with some actual appeal.
Which isn’t to say that Walker is a hero. He’s hiding some real skeletons in his closet. The closest thing to a virtuous protagonist we get is Jessie Mei Li’s Ellie, a naive beat cop roped into Walker’s world, and simply trying to stay afloat. She adds just the right amount of heart.
Closing out the core cast are Forest Whitaker as the aforementioned politician, and Timothy Olyphant as a police officer who is (intentionally) detestable from minute one. Olyphant has a few solid moments and gets a starring part in the frenetic nightclub brawl, but I wish Whitaker were given more to work with. He’s solid but does feel the most wasted of the cast.
'Havoc' is a Netflix must-watch, period
“Havoc” is pretty much everything I wanted it to be. While I would have liked either a more constrained story (a la “The Raid”) or a longer runtime to flesh out the rival forces enough for each to feel distinct (a la “The Raid 2”), when the flick builds up a head of steam, this minior quibble fades into the background and the cacophony of violence captures your attention.
I’ve no doubt that Netflix subscribers are going to eat up this new original movie with gusto, and its future No. 1 position is already secured. I’ve already written about this year’s crop of streaming originals being more than a little underwhelming, but “Havoc” is the real deal: a relentlessly energetic, impeccably crafted action-thriller that hums with confidence.
Watch "Havoc" on Netflix now
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