HAVOC
Starring: Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Forest Whitaker, Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, Sunny Pang, Jim Caesar, and Luis Guzmán
Director: Gareth Evans
NICK
Violent. Visceral. Brutal. Bloodbath. These are just a few of the words that come to mind for Gareth Evans' Havoc. The Raid director shows once again that he can make an action film as good as anyone, only this time he does so in English. Tom Hardy is back in the ass-kicking lead role that he thrives in, particularly in two dynamic set pieces bound to be among the best of the year. It’s a shame this one is skipping a theatrical release because it’s pure turn-your-brain-off-and-lock-in mayhem that would’ve surely been a crowd-pleaser.
AMARÚ
Gareth Evans can direct the hell out of some action scenes, but his gritty and realistic Raid series has been ingrained in my brain for so long that I was thrown off by Havoc’s opening CGI-looking sequence. Once I saw how Tom Hardy's and Forest Whitaker’s over-the-top performances matched Evans’ high-octane action, however, I recalibrated my thinking. I sat and watched a very fun crime film with a lot of enjoyable actors playing in a bloody sandbox. It was hard to accept how such a merciless film allowed certain characters to survive miracles, but I said “fuck it” and went along for the ride.
KATIE
Havoc lives up to its name in the worst possible way because it’s guilty of everything that bothers me about modern action films. Most of the action is indecipherable thanks to the ridiculously shaky camera, constant quick cuts, and far too much reliance on CGI. None of the characters the film follows should have survived. At times, they’re literally showered in bullets, but emerge unscathed; then suddenly appear in random settings with no indication of how they got there, which removes any sense of tension or stakes. Havoc is just a few decent action scenes that are thoughtlessly stitched together.
QUENTIN
When a movie is sold as the first action thriller in a decade from the director of The Raid – starring Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant, and Puerto Rican treasure Luis Guzmán – an expectation is set. Sadly, despite visceral action and a chaos befitting the title, Havoc is more exhausting than fun. It’s the loudest and worst parts of the John Wick movies, but minus the creativity (one harpoon aside) and, dare I say, the subtlety. It’s a lot of machine-gun noise and stereotypical archetypes, which I loved in the 90s, but have apparently outgrown. There are badass moments, no doubt. But they don’t make a great movie.
ROBERT
If you ever wondered what it would be like if Eddie Brock knew gun-fu, then Havoc is the movie for you. Seriously, when Tom Hardy has an American accent, it feels as if quality starts at a lower threshold. There were vestiges of Smokin’ Aces and S.W.A.T. in this film but I didn’t have as much fun with it. It seemed like every person needed at least six bullets before they could be dispatched, and globular blood flew up toward the camera every five minutes. Also, the visual effects were jarring with each action set piece. I expected a better time.
BODE
The last Max Payne video game was released over a decade ago, but the scuzzy spirit of that series lives on in the form of Gareth Evans’ latest actioner, Havoc – from its wintery setting to its haunted detective antihero (who Tom Hardy embodies, East Coast accent and all). As expected from The Raid director, the action sequences are incredibly exhilarating, with each one bloodier than the last. I just wish the human drama didn’t needlessly convolute itself in its set up, ultimately seeming like an afterthought. Still, because Evans hasn’t lost his violent touch, I really can’t write this off.
