THE STORY – After a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through the criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.
THE CAST – Tom Hardy, Forrest Whitaker, Jessie Mei Li, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Yeo Yann Yann & Luis Guzmán
THE TEAM – Gareth Evans (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 105 Minutes
It almost feels like a fever dream that Gareth Evans’ long-awaited project “Havoc” is finally coming to light. It’s been four long years since it was first announced by “The Raid: Redemption” director, and since then, the film has been constantly pushed back on Netflix’s timeline. Evans’s desire to complete reshoots along with the dual strikes has made what felt like an easy win for the streamer come off more as an endurance race of a production. Plenty of people would agree that the wait would automatically be worth it just because of Evan’s work alone on “The Raid” series, and by all means, that’s more than a justified position to hold. While the end result is far from perfect, whenever Evans gets to let loose, “Havoc” is an absolute blood-soaked blast that entertains for most of its sub-two-hour runtime.
Audiences quickly get a sense of the world Evans is trying to create in “Havoc.” There’s almost a dreamlike haziness to this nameless city where Evans drops us in. Audiences are put in the shoes of fellow police detective Walker Mackey (played by Tom Hardy), who is far from the perfect protector of citizens’ rights. The ragged coffee-guzzling lawman is flawed and struggling in the parent department, often labeled sarcastically as “Father of the Year.” He also has procured a reputation in the department as an officer who easily succumbed to temptation. His dealings with a discreditable Mayor, Vincent Crowley (played by Forrest
Whitaker has left Walker with a bad taste among certain personalities in the department. Of course, as films of this genre would enforce, Walker is so damn good at his job that it’s worth keeping him around despite the baggage he carries. So it makes sense that everyone would come to him, including Mayor Crowley (albeit for selfish reasons), as a deadly heist brings the city to its knees and leaves a police officer fighting for his life. It’s a case that drags the worst crowds towards Walker, including pissed-off Triad members and crooked cops looking to score.
From a writing perspective, Evans tees up plenty of story elements that, on paper, while a by-the-books detective film, are delivered in a manner that could be considered, at times, a bit tedious. There’s a wide array of characters all jammed into the story in such a short amount of time that it leads to convoluted storytelling despite everyone involved in the story having such clear intentions. It works against Evans’s direction, which flows well on the opposite end, especially when delivering multiple engrossing action sequences. On a story level, there really isn’t much that Evans needs to do considering the type of film “Havoc” is, but compared to his previous work, it’s the least invested I’ve found myself with one of his films.
To no one’s surprise, “Havoc” is at its best whenever Evans lets Hardy go berserk. His direction in terms of the action never misses a beat as audiences are treated to a symphony of violence filled with characters engaging in bullet ballet and beating the living pulp out of one another. The smooth part of most people’s brains will never tire of seeing Hardy tap into his MMA background to manhandle goons and deliver flying kicks at a moment’s notice. It helps that Evans’ long-time collaborator and cinematographer Matt Flannery has returned once again. Flannery’s signature style of fast-paced camera whips lends itself to creating heightened shootouts where muzzle flashes are aggressive as the hits Hardy dishes out. There are multiple standout sequences, one of which is a prolonged shootout at a club that continuously left my mouth agape. It’s hard not to be giddy for all the endless carnage in such elaborate set pieces, even if they pale in comparison to what takes place in either of “The Raid” films.
For Hardy’s performance, it makes so much sense for him to take part in a beat ’em-up playground that Evans would imagine. Hardy’s no-nonsense gruffness works well for a character such as Walker. Honestly, seeing some of the supporting performances that surround him is one of the more delightful aspects of “Havoc.” It feels preordained that Timothy Olyphant would, of course, play another cop, but Evans casting him as the heavy who drills rounds into enemies is an action junkie’s delight. It’s a shame Whitaker didn’t get more to work with besides being a distressed father, hoping his son makes it out okay. The moment we first see Whittaker’s Mayor Crowley on screen carrying himself almost in a way that comes off as a discount Eric Adams, it leaves the impression that his role would be far more jovial. Jessie Mei Li’s straight-laced officer, Ellie Sofier, is a welcome addition, playing off Hardy nicely.
The one aspect of “Havoc” that remains baffling is the driving sequences, which are constructed by some poorly realized CG, mainly in the opening car chase, one that is head-scratching as to why Evans would even go down this route. Aesthetically, it plays into the city Evans is creating, but it also leads to a film that visually doesn’t always live up to the standards Evans himself has set. After years of waiting, it feels like “Havoc” was never going to reach the pre-conceived levels of hype that it was supposed to live up to. It’s clear that whenever certain moments were filmed years later than the original period of principal photography (mainly due to Hardy’s more than apparent changes in beard thickness), there’s doubt it made any real difference in the final cut that Evans envisioned. Still, when “Havoc” hits, it only reminds us how awesome it feels when Evans gets to do his own thing. Even a flawed Gareth Evans film satisfies more than most action flicks today.
