‘Havoc’ Review — A War Of Blood And Mangled Corpses
In 2021, Gareth Evans (The Raid films, Apostle) finished filming the action thriller, Havoc, starring Tom Hardy, for Netflix. But just like any film, Havoc needed reshoots. Due to scheduling conflicts and the SAG-AFTRA strike, Havoc sat stagnant until 2025 when it was finally released on Netflix with little to no marketing ahead of time.
Set in a corrupt U.S. city that is never named, Patrick Walker (Hardy) is a homicide detective who has lost everything because he has put his all into his work. It’s Christmas Eve, and Walker’s ex-wife won’t let him see his six-year-old daughter because of how much of a crooked asshole he’s become.
A group of thieves steals a truckload of washing machines full of cocaine to smooth things over with the local Chinese crime syndicate led by a man named Tsui. However, when the deal seems to be going in the right direction, a group of masked men burst in with assault rifles and gun everyone down, including Tsui.
Two surviving thieves, Charlie (Justin Cornwell) and Mia (Quelin Sepulveda), were caught on camera at the scene and are believed to be behind the assault. However, Charlie is the son of local mayoral candidate Lawrence Beaumont (Forest Whitaker). Walker has worked for Lawrence in many hush-hush jobs and now wants out. He agrees to find Charlie as his last job for Lawrence to get out for good, but Tsui’s mother (Yeo Yann Yann) has other ideas and craves revenge for her son’s death.
The days of Gareth Evans nearly dying while he shoots a practical car chase like in The Raid 2 are over as Havoc is undoubtedly filled with more VFX than both of The Raid films combined. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the VFX at least has its moments in the film. The unnamed city Havoc takes place in is gritty as hell. The colored fluorescent lighting of a city seemingly plagued by both constant rain and a slumbering city that never sees the sun adds incredible highlights to the film’s many car chases.
There’s also the element of possibly noticing Tom Hardy’s face being deep faked onto someone else during the sequences involving heavy hand-to-hand combat. Considering Hardy has three stunt doubles credited in the film’s cast (one for driving and two for action), this is probably true.
The story (or a lack of one) has also been a complaint of the film. Havoc plays out like a noir film with a mystery that isn’t entirely difficult to solve. The film has story beats that are similar to The Raid films, and whether you can look past that or not because it’s by the same filmmaker is entirely up to you.
Personally speaking, Havoc is an intense-as-hell action film that is riveting for all of its nearly two-hour duration. The VFX are bit of an adjustment, especially since in some of the sequences involving cop cars, they seem to float along on the nighttime concrete roads that are unnaturally fast. But this is easy to look past since it doesn’t last long.
Havoc opens with a gnarly car chase between a semi-truck and several cop cars. The POV throws you directly in harm’s way with all of the crunching metal, broken headlights, and screaming sirens. The exhilarating sequence culminates with a whole-ass washing machine filled to the brim with cocaine being thrown through the windshield of a cop car.
Performance wise, Patrick Walker is Eddie Brock but with uncensored vulgarity. There’s a sequence where Tom Hardy spits out, “I’M A F***ING COP,” and he’s just doing the Venom voice. But Hardy’s familiar performance in Havoc works as a guy who has seemingly become numb to everyone around him and is honestly only investing in one last-ditch effort to hopefully be reunited with his family.
Patrick Walker is also very messy in appearance much like Eddie Brock in the two Venom sequels. Walker always has a Starbucks cup in his hand while rocking a full-blown disheveled look complete with the corners of a plaid shirt crookedly sticking out the bottom of a thrown-over black parka. Hardy looks exhausted as Walker with a harsh five o’clock shadow that is leaning on becoming a full beard.
The “demons in hockey masks” sequence that ignites the film’s main storyline features a moment for Patrick Walker that is borrowed directly from Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. As Walker arrives at the scene of the crime, he closes his eyes and begins piecing everything together in his mind.
The masked men with assault rifles point their guns over Walker’s shoulder as everyone in Tsui’s hideout is torn apart by a relentless barrage of bullets in slow motion. Walker has become accustomed to rearranging a pile of blood and corpses into something somewhat tangible.
Most of the blood in the film is CGI, too, which is disappointing, but it also results in some violently worthwhile visuals. Some poor man’s face is blasted all over the camera by a shotgun, which is probably much more difficult to do with practical effects.
Havoc is weird because it offers a lot of what Gareth Evans is known for like messy and memorable action sequences (the entirety of the fast-paced club and cabin sequences). But it feels a bit different because of Evans’ choice to lean into CGI more than he ever has. But even with that in mind, Havoc will end up being one of the best action movies of the year.
Havoc (2025), Netflix
PROS
- Gareth Evans films always deliver wild action sequences
- Visually intiriguing (cinematography, VFX)
- Violence is top notch
CONS
- A Gareth Evans film with heavy CGI is an adjustment
- Ending leaves you hanging
- Tom Hardy's performance is decent but familiar
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