The Electric State was a highly anticipated sci-fi adventure movie from the Russo brothers starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. With a budget of $320 million, it was also one of the most expensive movies ever made. However, although the film debuted at Netflix’s #1 spot, it did so with just 25.2 million views. As HAVOC was produced for a fraction of the budget of The Electric State, it’s certainly a lot more bang for the buck. Other recent action flicks also performed better in their debuts, including Carry On with 42 million views and Back in Action with 46.2 million views.

Tom Hardy stars in HAVOC as Walker, a “bruised detective fighting his way through the criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with a number of factions on his tail; a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, as well as his fellow cops. When attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.” In addition to Hardy, HAVOC stars Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Luis Guzmán, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang, Jim Caesar, Xelia Mendes-Jones, with Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker.

Our own Chris Bumbray didn’t think the film was perfect, but he did have a great time with it. “While easily as violent as The Raid or its sequel, Havoc embraces a different style of action, with it being Evans’s homage to the heroic bloodshed genre,” Bumbray wrote. “For those not in the know, this is the genre of action engineered by directors like John Woo and Ringo Lam during their 80s Hong Kong hey-day. Like in those films, the bullets fly constantly, with our heroes simply wincing anytime they take a bullet, as in this world it takes AT LEAST half a dozen wounds to take anyone down. Not since the days of Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo has there been as trigger happy an action flick, and it’s stunningly accomplished for fans of the genre.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.

Did you watch HAVOC on Netflix over the weekend?

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That said, these are two different kinds of action movies. The Accountant 2, in addition to being a sequel, is much more in the vein of American action movies from the 80s and 90s. It’s the kind of movie a guy like Mel Gibson would have made in his heyday, with someone like Richard Donner directing it. By contrast, Havoc is firmly entrenched in the Hong Kong action style of the same period, with it very much in the mould of a John Woo/ Chow Yun-Fat flick. Havoc has a body count in the hundreds, while The Accountant 2 keeps things a little more earthbound (although I’d wager Affleck and Bernthal each kill at least a dozen baddies each in the climax). 

Of the two, I preferred The Accountant 2. While I think Gareth Evans is an amazing action director, his corny script and dialogue muddle what’s otherwise a brilliantly executed piece of action filmmaking. By contrast, The Accountant 2’s dialogue and characterization are a highlight. But hey, what do I know? Let us know in the comments what you thought of both of this week’s new action flicks, and while you’re at it, take the poll below and let us know which one you think is better. With Thunderbolts on the way and Sinners in theatres, at least we won’t be lacking big-screen action anytime soon!

The post Poll: Havoc vs The Accountant 2: What’s the better run-and-gun action flick out this weekend? appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: On Christmas Eve, a dirty cop (Tom Hardy) is blackmailed by his crime lord boss (Forest Whitaker) into rescuing his son Charlie (Justin Cornwell), who’s been embroiled in a drug deal gone bad is the subject of a city-wide manhunt.

REVIEW: Havoc is the long-awaited return to action movies for director Gareth Evans. After a brief detour into hallucinogenic horror with Apostle and episodic TV with Gangs of London, Evans is back to shake up the genre, with Havoc ranking among the most brutal action films of the last decade. Sporting a body count that must be in the hundreds, with over 30,000 rounds of ammunition fired (a number I got right from the director himself), this is a totally different style of action film than the more polished efforts being put out by 87 Eleven/North (the folks behind John Wick, Nobody, and more).

While easily as violent as The Raid or its sequel, Havoc embraces a different style of action, with it being Evans’s homage to the heroic bloodshed genre. For those not in the know, this is the genre of action engineered by directors like John Woo and Ringo Lam during their 80s Hong Kong hey-day. Like in those films, the bullets fly constantly, with our heroes simply wincing anytime they take a bullet, as in this world it takes AT LEAST half a dozen wounds to take anyone down. Not since the days of Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo has there been as trigger happy an action flick, and it’s stunningly accomplished for fans of the genre.

Tom Hardy stars as a prototypical hero for this kind of movie, being the morally shady, semi-tragic hero who puts himself into harm’s way to do good. Rather than have him be a hitman or gangster with a conscience, Evans borrows from American police movies, making him a crooked cop, who works with a crew of his fellow officers to rip off dealers at the behest of their crime lord boss with political ambitions (Whitaker – who seems to be having a ball as a quasi-redeemable villain). Of course, Hardy is tortured by his misdeeds, leaving him on the outs with the rest of his department, including his former best pal (played by a gun-toting Timothy Olyphant), with only a rookie partner (Jessie Mei Li) on his side, who doesn’t know the extent of his crimes.

Truth be told, there’s nothing especially original about Evans’s premise, with the whole plot being little more than an excuse to get to the movie’s true raison d’être – the incredible, extended action sequences. While it takes a while to get to them (nearly an hour), the second half of the movie is wall-to-wall carnage.

While we’ve seen Tom Hardy do action before, he’s never been put through the wringer like he has here. Shooting off round after round, and using edged weapons in extended fight sequences, he makes for a dynamic action hero. One thing worth noting is that his action is never polished, with him far more of a brawler than a guy like John Wick. He’s playing something of an everyman, so his fighting style is appropriately chaotic, with him using everything in reach to kill his opponents are quickly as he can. And, let me tell you – there are A LOT of opponents.

Now, some may find the film borders on being absurd, with perhaps hundreds of Chinese bad guys assaulting our heroic trio (consisting of Hardy, Cornwell, and his love interest – Quelin Sepulveda) in the second half of the movie. No one every really seems to run out of bullets either, but this is standard for the genre, and anyone walking into this should expect it to be highly stylized. 

Technically, the movie is impeccable, with DP Matt Flannery giving it a grittier, harder-edged look than most other, more polished action flicks. The sound design is especially important, with each gun having a signature sound, while Evans’s regular composer Aria Prayogi contributes a propulsive score.

Of course, Havoc isn’t perfect, with the Chinese bad guys lacking development, with the main, female villain not given much in the way of screen time. The movie also has a liberal amount of cheesy scenes sprinkled in, with almost everything about the storyline being relatively cliche ridden. It doesn’t matter though. While some action fans may be frustrated by how long the carnage takes to kick in, once the gunfights start, the movie is a jaw-dropper, although it certainly would have played even better in theaters that it will at home. 

Havoc begins streaming on Netflix on April 25th.

Havoc (2025)

GOOD

7

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While it’s been a long road for Havoc to finally come out, the new action thriller from The Raid and The Raid 2 director, Gareth Evans, is finally about to premiere on Netflix. The film stars Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Luis Guzmán, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang, Jim Caesar, Xelia Mendes-Jones with Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker. Reactions to the movie have started to hit social media.

Rama’s Screen had a very positive reaction, saying, “HAVOC was one of the craziest films I’ve seen this year. A relentless chaotic firepowered thrill ride. And Tom Hardy’s action endurance impressed the hell out of me. The shootouts & the ultra violence had no qualms about reaching the point of overkill. Absolutely insane! #Havoc”

Zachary Lee gets amusingly poetic about the action and violence in the film, but he definitely glows about it too as he says, “#Havoc: Gareth Evans & Tom Hardy show that we’ve only nicked the surface when it comes to depicting on-screen death. Muscular filmmaking at its finest, it’s relentlessly bleak but there’s a twisted catharsis in seeing how it crescendos in brutality. Best night club fight in ages”

Barry Hertz says that this film was worth the long wait, “The four long years it took for Gareth Evans’ HAVOC to make it to Netflix were worth it – this is a squib-heavy bloodbath that’s mythic, messy, manic. Missing THE RAID 2’s Mad Dog flavor (and that film’s enjoyably dense gangland-war narrative), but when it rips, it rips so hard.”

Ian Sandwell echoes what people have said in the past about The Raid movies — that Gareth Evans knows the prime example of action, “Gareth Evans is back showing everybody how action should be done in the insanely violent Havoc, coming to Netflix next Friday. There’s one particular club sequence that I cannot stop rewatching, marvelling at the technical audacity of it all. Terrific fun.”

The official synopsis reads,
“Walker (Tom Hardy) is a bruised detective fighting his way through the criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with a number of factions on his tail; a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, as well as his fellow cops. When attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.”

Havoc is directed by Evans from a screenplay he also wrote. The action film is produced by Ed Talfan, Gareth Evans, Aram Tertzakian and Tom Hardy. What do you think of these reactions? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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It’s been a long road, but Havoc will finally bring the pain to viewers. While Gareth Evans is famous for his Indonesian martial arts flicks, The Raid and The Raid 2, he says this will not be a [martial arts style] Silat showcase like those films. “It was never going to be a martial arts film,” Evans explained. “I wanted this to feel like the gunplay stuff that I love watching… Tom [Hardy] came to us in f***ing beast mode. I tapped him on the shoulder and it was just like granite. He came fully physically prepared.“ Netflix just dropped the new trailer that shows all the mayhem.

The film stars Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Luis Guzmán, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang, Jim Caesar, Xelia Mendes-Jones with Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker.

The official synopsis reads,
“Walker (Tom Hardy) is a bruised detective fighting his way through the criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with a number of factions on his tail; a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, as well as his fellow cops. When attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.”

Havoc is directed by Evans from a screenplay he also wrote. The action film is produced by Ed Talfan, Gareth Evans, Aram Tertzakian and Tom Hardy.

As production wrapped up four years ago, you might be wondering what the hold-up has been; according to Evans, that came down to the difficulty in scheduling additional photography, which required some very specific people to be in the same place at the same time. However, the director promised the film would be worth the wait, and the delay was only beneficial. “It’s had a profound effect on the film,” he said. “It allowed me to better streamline it, and make it what it was always intended to be, which is a blistering, fast-paced action-thriller with nods to the Hong Kong cinema that I grew up watching.”

With films such as The Raid and The Raid 2 under his belt, Evans certainly knows his action, and he says the film will “deliver on the action front. That’s the primary focus. But with Tom, what you get as well is an intensely muscular central performance, and really well-developed character. There’s a lot going on under the hood.”

What did you think of the Havoc trailer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Tom Hardy fights his way through a gang war in the new hard-hitting trailer for Havoc appeared first on JoBlo.

Gareth Evans’ HAVOC has been a long time coming, but the gritty action flick is finally set to be released next month on Netflix. As a massive fan of The Raid and The Raid 2, I’m hugely excited to see what Evans has up his sleeve this time. The director told Empire that HAVOC marks a shift from martial arts action to gritty gunplay and that Tom Hardy was more than up for the challenge.

“It was never going to be a martial-arts film,” Evans explained. “I wanted this to feel like the gunplay stuff that I love watching… Tom came to us in f***ing beast mode. I tapped him on the shoulder and it was just like granite. He came fully physically prepared.“

Hardy plays Walker, a “bruised detective fighting his way through the criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with a number of factions on his tail; a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, as well as his fellow cops. When attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.” In addition to Hardy, HAVOC stars Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Luis Guzmán, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang, Jim Caesar, Xelia Mendes-Jones with Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker.

Evans dropped a few more details on Hardy’s character. “Walker is not silky-smooth. He’s gonna cause as much carnage and as much mayhem as possible,” Evans said. “He’s not grabbing your wrist and turning you into an arm lock. He’s grabbing you by the scruff of the neck and driving your face into the nearest heavy object.“

Production on HAVOC wrapped up four years ago, but Evans explained that the delay proved very beneficial. “It’s had a profound effect on the film,” he said. “It allowed me to better streamline it, and make it what it was always intended to be, which is a blistering, fast-paced action-thriller with nods to the Hong Kong cinema that I grew up watching.” HAVOC will debut on Netflix on April 25th.

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It’s been nearly five years since it was first announced that Tom Hardy would star in Havoc, a new action thriller from The Raid director Gareth Evans. The film has certainly been a long time coming, but it will finally be released on Netflix this April. The streamer has released the new hard-hitting teaser trailer that showcases Evans’ signature chaotic style that helped made his Raid movies a big staple of the action movie genre.

The cast includes Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Luis Guzmán, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang, Jim Caesar, Xelia Mendes-Jones with Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker.

The official synopsis reads,
“Walker (Tom Hardy) is a bruised detective fighting his way through the criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with a number of factions on his tail; a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, as well as his fellow cops. When attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.”

Havoc is directed by Evans from a screenplay he also wrote. The action film is produced by Ed Talfan, Gareth Evans, Aram Tertzakian and Tom Hardy.

As production wrapped up four years ago, you might be wondering what the hold-up has been; according to Evans, that came down to the difficulty in scheduling additional photography, which required some very specific people to be in the same place at the same time. However, the director promised the film would be worth the wait, and the delay was only beneficial. “It’s had a profound effect on the film,” he said. “It allowed me to better streamline it, and make it what it was always intended to be, which is a blistering, fast-paced action-thriller with nods to the Hong Kong cinema that I grew up watching.”

With films such as The Raid and The Raid 2 under his belt, Evans certainly knows his action, and he says the film will “deliver on the action front. That’s the primary focus. But with Tom, what you get as well is an intensely muscular central performance, and really well-developed character. There’s a lot going on under the hood.”

Havoc hits audiences on Netflix on April 25. What did you think of the teaser trailer?

The post Tom Hardy brings the pain in the teaser trailer for Gareth Evans’ Havoc appeared first on JoBlo.