Havoc is a conventional cop action thriller, we've seen it all before, drugs, corrupt cops, and gang wars. What makes Havoc different is the director, Gareth Evans.
If you’re an action movie head, you have to be familiar with The Raid and The Raid 2. Both movie are his work. This time, Evans had Tom Hardy, Forest Whitaker, and Timothy Olyphant at his disposal.
Evans leans more into stylised gunwork over hand-to-hand combat this time round. The gun fights are violent and bloody, with bodies sometimes shredded by shotguns in glorious slow motion. The desicion by the cinemtographer to use shaky cam might feel overwhelming at first, but it complements the violence of some scenes.
The world feels cold and rough, think Gotham city from The Batman IP but with car scenes that give off a surreal, video-game cut scene look.
I loved the gunfights, the sound design especially for the guns is amplified making the guns sound unusually loud. I can’t tell you how many times I rewound the club scene and the third act. There’s even a story! It’s not perfect but it's effective in getting you invested. Tom Hardy's look I thought was perfect for the tone of the film, and Whitaker has a surprisingly emotional moment.
The negatives
For actors of their calibre, Timothy Olyphant and Forest Whitaker feels underutilised. Some exterior cityscape scene look like CGI (computer generated), though I loved the look. The emotional stakes somehow get lost in the bloody action, but then again this movie is not designed for the Oscars.
Conclusion
Havoc might be generic on paper, but Evans’ direction makes this one of the best movie on Netflix. As an action movie it's up there with Extraction 2.
Havoc is currently streaming on Netflix, and please, don’t watch this with your children if you don’t want to scar them for life.
