Gareth Evans & Tom Hardy deliver brutal, neon-soaked mayhem in this throwback to ‘80s action grit.
The highly anticipated Gareth Evans-Tom Hardy collaboration, Havoc, has finally arrived on Netflix after 3 years since production ended. With The Raid movies, Evans altered the form of an action movie, supplying it with relentless action. Now, with a bigger budget and a movie star, Havoc gives a nod to the action classics from the 80s and 90s, upping the action and brutality.
The movie takes place over the course of a rough night when a Chinese gang leader’s son is killed. A cocaine deal gets interrupted by men with assault rifles wearing hockey masks. Walker is on the case along with his new partner Ellie (Jessie Mei Li). The movie is edited to keep us a step behind the plot and to move away from the typicality of the script. It works because while the movie sets up all the players, you know who the good and the bad guys are, but you don’t know why they are good or bad until halfway through the film.
Walker’s hands aren’t as clean either, as we see him make a deal with the mayor (Forest Whitaker) to get his son out of the ongoing cocaine-murder case. Whatever mess he is in, this will be his way out if he succeeds. It won’t be easy since the mayor’s son, Charlie (Justin Cornwell), is being hunted by the Chinese triad as well as cops looking to get revenge for one of their own.
Havoc is light on the action compared to The Raid movies, but when it gets going, it’s a flash flood of red and orange, from the blood and the gunshots, respectively, that overwhelms the senses. The big action pieces are a compilation of long takes, quick edits, hand-held camera work, as well as slow-motion, all of it setting the movie apart from the usual action fare Hollywood produces. While the action isn’t as operatic as in the Mad Max movies, it is effective.
Though the movie is shot at night, each shot is illuminated with great photography as the camera sweeps swiftly across the unnamed city. Matt Flannery, Evans’ cinematographer since The Raid, brings the same depth in Havoc. Action movies have changed since those movies, though, especially after John Wick made his appearance. Audiences have had the taste of aesthetic and prolonged action sequences, and Havoc manages to keep its head above the waters of those expectations.
Even though the story isn’t original, the scenes are interesting with pulpy dialogue, and character actors like Luiz Guzman, Forest Whitaker and Timothy Olyphant keep the movie alive. The first time Timothy Olyphant and Tom Hardy interact, they stir up more excitement just by a look or a gesture. The movie would have served well with more scenes like that.
Walker has the wise-ass exterior of a John McClane or a Philip Marlowe. We meet him on one of the crucial days of his life. He has made some bad choices in the past, but here, he is on the path of redemption. None of this character development is explored in the movie, though. Hardy, the expert actor that he is, carries the weight of Walker’s conundrum on his shoulders. He is on a mission that may open him up for judgment, but he has judged himself and has no qualms about doing the right thing. Olyphant, as well, brings mean and lean energy to portray his character despite the lack of character exploration in the script.
While Havoc lacks the ambition and ingenuity of The Raid 1 & 2, it is a solid action film with great actors in it. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ellie – ‘Sir, we got footage of our suspects.’
Walker – ‘All right, suspects. Hey, where’s that from?’
Ellie – ‘Upstairs.’
Walker – ‘All right. Got anything from down here?’
Ellie – ‘No. Nothing down here yet.’
Walker – ‘Nothing down here? All right.’
(Looking at the man in the footage) ‘Hmm’
Ellie – ‘Do you know him?’
Walker – ‘No, I don’t fuckin’ know him. I don’t know everybody in this city.’