‘Havoc’ Review

From an apartment building filled with tenants willing to kill to survive in 2011’s The Raid to families whose bonds are put to the test in the struggle for power in Gangs of London, Gareth Evans has woven intricate action into tight-knit or struggling communities throughout his career. Shorts like Safe Haven (co-directed by Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto) and feature-length films, such as 2018’s Apostle, remain interesting horror detours in the action director’s oeuvre that maintain the idea of people sticking together amidst chaos. That’s the allure of his films and why movies like The Raid 2, which remains the director’s most ambitious work, can feel massive in scope without losing sight of the heartbeat of the film. Similarly, Evans’ latest crime thriller sets up a significant amount of spinning plates from a single incident before delivering a whirlwind of intricately staged set pieces that serve as reminders of why Evans remains one of the best action directors working today. With its grimy setting, brutal kills, and sullen protagonist, Havoc lives up to its name by depicting a crumbling world ready to collapse from a single wrong decision.

Opening with a gloomy monologue about how the choices we make can have disastrous consequences, leaving our world inhabited by ghosts, Evans’ screenplay centers on the morose Patrick Walker (Tom Hardy)—a homicide cop who made a fateful decision over a year ago that left him estranged from his family and friends. His closest ally is a corrupt politician, Lawrence Beaumont (Forest Whitaker), who evades a thorough investigation into his affairs only to have his potential war on drugs in his city waylaid by the implication of his son, Charlie (Justin Cornwell), in a drug-deal-turned-gang-war that could threaten to destroy his career. Set around Christmas, Walker becomes tasked with one final job to help the politician’s son escape the Triad that are hunting him down after the death of one of their members, Tsui (Jeremy Ang Jones), and the corrupt cops seeking vengeance for the near-fatal injury caused to one of their own in a blistering car chase that sets a tone for the aesthetic of Havoc while giving taste of the action that will eventually follow.

However, for those looking for something light on story but heavy on action, Evans has long ago signalled that The Raid’s economical storytelling was an anomaly in his career. Instead, Havoc plays out like a compact version of Gangs of London, which he co-created with his longtime collaborator and cinematographer Matt Flannery. The infighting between gangs and support systems is a lot less nuanced, but remains a pivotal touchstone and allows for Evans to craft measured bouts of carnage that slowly tear away at the many parties involved in chasing down Charlie. The table-setting is lengthy, and while the film’s editing can sometimes alleviate the strains of exposition, there’s a lot of work to do to make everyone feel crucial to the web being spun, which can sometimes make the film seem more bloated than it really is. Characters like Tsui’s mother (Yeo Yann Yann) feel fleshed out through thematic elements more than narrative, and therefore can feel superfluous, but offer a richly textured underworld for Walker to navigate.

Parenthood, family, and the decisions made to keep others safe fuel the emotional resonance beneath layers of grime and filth within Havoc. The characters who feel the most remorseful are those whose morality is murky, but the lifeboat is there. No one embodies this better than Walker, and Hardy delivers a fantastic performance marked by sarcastic nihilism and misdirected anger, which effectively explains why his character is in the situation he’s in. Though having a new partner who you refuse to get along with is not exactly original, it’s the attempts that Ellie (Jessie Mei Li) makes to break through to a disconnected Walker that makes even that character provide texture to a world that often feels beyond hope. The themes go many places, but Evans himself has called the film a love letter to the heroic bloodshed film, and it’s easy to see why in Walker.

Much of the visual design amplifies that hopelessness, and the city at the heart of Havoc often feels reminiscent of Gotham City. In fact, the opening car chase that sets off this chaos is more reminiscent of a graphic novel than reality, as the city is painted in monochrome and illuminated only by the red-and-blue sirens whizzing between cars and brushing up against dilapidated buildings. The Medusa Club, which serves as host to one of the few extended action sequences in the film, is also evocative of comic book landmarks, such as The Iceberg Lounge from the Batman comics, and sees all manner of criminal enterprise walk through its doors. However, Walker is no Bruce Wayne, and the series of events that lead him to the Medusa Club are on a path to seeking atonement: a light within the darkness that may not exist, but might purge the ghosts from the city for a moment.

However, to do so, Walker must carve out a path of escape for Charlie and his girlfriend, Mia (Quelin Sepulveda), so they can flee the city, the Triad (led by both a vengeful mother and Ching, the latter of which is portrayed by Sunny Pang), and a group of pissed-off cops led by Vincent (Timothy Olyphant). It’s a cast bolstered by noteworthy names like Olyphant, Whitaker, Hardy, and Luis Guzman, but how much they get to play within the same sandbox varies because of how thin some of the narrative threads become as they are whittled down to their bare essence. Those actors who don’t necessarily have an action background aren’t ignored once the powderkeg is lit, though, which is a relief given how some action films can either waste action talent or spin off into unnecessary plotlines to incorporate them. Here, it feels natural and understandable that Hardy remains the focus of the massive action sequences for as long as it makes sense.

Those moments are lengthy and worth the price of admission, as well. Evans and Flannery have consistently demonstrated their mastery of their craft. While the car chase at the beginning doesn’t quite hit the highs of The Raid 2’s vehicular martial arts mayhem, a club scene that sees a widespread of fighting styles and a climactic set piece that feels like an extension of the work Evans and Flannery put into the fifth episode of Gangs of London’s first season, are another two astounding, kinetic scenes to add to their already impressive collaborations. Teaming up again with Gangs of London’s stunt coordinator, Jude Poyer, the team have assembled some incredibly complex scenes that are elevated by Flannery’s dedication to keeping the camera locked into a fight long enough until it makes sense to pivot to the next brawl. The club scene, in particular, is where the handoffs between characters feel organic, giving the impression that everyone is in over their heads, without the need for any flashy maneuvers. However, there are still plenty of those that had me levitating out of my seat.

There’s room for criticism that Evans can sometimes tread familiar territory a little too gratuitously. It often works in his favour as the familiar situations and dynamics can be seen anew through his particular brand of action filmmaking. That is very much the case with Havoc. Hardy feels at home within this specific blend of grimy action thriller and sprawling crime film, and though it can sometimes feel like waiting for all the pieces to fall into place, once everything does, Havoc is unrelenting. Evans has crafted another barnburner of an action film, one that explores the humanity within the desperation of individuals fighting to stay afloat. Visceral and brutal, Havoc embodies its cruel setting and circumstances through the type of blood-soaked carnage that few people other than Evans seem to understand how to navigate thoughtfully without losing its edge.