Havoc is a crime action film directed by Gareth Evans, best known for The Raid series. This US-UK co-production stars some big names, including Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Luis Guzmán, Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker. The movie just dropped on Netflix a few days ago. So, the big question: will Gareth Evans bring back the brutal action that made The Raid such a phenomenon?
The story follows Patrick Walker (Hardy), a dirty cop living in a corrupt city ruled by criminal gangs. Trouble kicks off when Charlie (Cornwell), the son of mayoral candidate Lawrence (Whitaker), is suspected of killing the son of a local triad boss during a heroin deal gone wrong. Walker, who shares a shady past with Lawrence, agrees to find Charlie in exchange for wiping the slate clean. But it’s not that simple—everyone’s after Charlie. The triads want him, the cops (Walker’s own colleagues) are also on his trail, hoping to get their hands on his stash of heroin.
For gangster crime fans, this kind of plot is nothing new. The story jumps from one character or faction to another, constantly building suspense until it all explodes in a loud, chaotic climax. The fast-paced plot means you might miss a lot of the smaller details along the way. But honestly, no one’s here for a deep, layered story—you’re here for the action.
Unlike The Raid, which focused on intricately choreographed fight scenes, Havoc leans heavily into relentless, brutal shootouts. Expect a lot of blood and violence—it’s not for the faint-hearted. Logic takes a backseat, too: bullets seem endless, and characters often get riddled with bullets multiple times before finally going down. Some even manage to get back up after taking ridiculous amounts of damage. Sure, the human will to survive is a thing, but when common sense and basic anatomy are thrown out the window, it’s best to just sit back and roll with it.
Gareth Evans stamps his signature all over Havoc—brutal, over-the-top, and purely designed to please hardcore fans of the genre. Havoc is basically The Raid on steroids. The film throws in some human drama here and there, but it feels more like an afterthought than anything meaningful.
Fans of this kind of action flick aren’t going anywhere, and filmmakers will keep making movies for them. And hey, it’s just entertainment, right? Nothing wrong with that. Whether it works for you or not—I’ll leave that to you to decide.
