Tom Hardy’s Havoc: 5 reasons to watch Netflix’s ultra-violent crime thriller

Is Tom Hardy about to enter his ‘Taken era’? If the high-octane Havoc is anything to go by, we’re not complaining.

A gritty, blood-soaked thriller from Gareth Evans (The Raid, Gangs of London) heading exclusively to Netflix this week, it sees Tom Hardy almost single handedly looking to answer Earth’s over-population problem by taking out seemingly hundreds of onscreen gangsters.

Hardy plays Detective Walker, a world-weary bent cop haunted by his part in a corrupt drug deal gone wrong. When an equally-bent politician (Forest Whitaker) sees his estranged son entangled in an underworld war, Walker gets wrapped up in his rescue — and uncovers just how deep the city’s corruption goes.

It’s bloody, and bloody good fun — a homage to the sort of action-hero cinema that just doesn’t get made very often these days. Want to know more? Here’s 5 more reasons to watch Hardy’s hard-boiled sure-to-be hit.

1. It’s a homage to some of the classic Hong Kong action films

Director Gareth Evans has always worn his influences on his sleeve, being a massive action movie fan and Hong Kong cinephile. Killcounts are high, action is dialled up to 11, and revenge, betrayal and corruption are at the heart of the genre — and present in Havoc. If you’re a fan of classics like Andrew Lau’s Infernal Affairs and John Woo’s Hard Boiled, you’ll feel right at home. But there’s a western sense of humour at play here too, with a wink and a nod to ludicrous muscle-bound 80s flicks like Schwarzenegger's Commando.

2. It has amazing fight choreography — and buckets of blood

Evans has made a name for himself with his high-impact action choreography, and Havoc once again delivers on that front. Whether you’re after car chases, fisticuffs or shootouts, Evans puts kinetic action on the screen. Hardy holds his own against some martial arts masters too — which shouldn’t be a surprise given his own MMA interests. But a scene in a club involving dozens of death-defying stunts, brutal hand-to-hand choreography, and super-speed shooting, ranks up there with the most chaotic ever captured on film.

3. It has one of the grossest death scenes in recent memory

Think of your all time ‘ewwww’ silver screen deaths. The melting-mobstar hit and run in Robocop for example. Or the eaten-by-a-giant-worm shop owner in Tremors. You can add Havoc to that list of ‘that’s exactly how I DON’T want to go out’ deaths for one of its characters. I won’t spoil the moment, but as a tease, I’ll never look at harpoon guns the same way again.

4. You won’t believe where it was actually filmed

Havoc may look like it plays out in New York City, but that’s wrong on two counts. Firstly, it’s a fictional American city, rather than the Big Apple. But more amazingly, it was all actually filmed in Wales, at locations across Cardiff, Swansea and Port Talbot — even in the Barry Island Pleasure Park. It’s great to see Hollywood showing the Welsh cinema scene some love — even if it had to do so in disguise.

5. It’s a stealth Christmas film

Action movies and the Yuletide season go hand in hand. Die Hard, Batman Returns, Lethal Weapon — they’ve become as crucial to that Christmas spirit as mulled wine and a giant Toblerone. Havoc, kicking off just ahead of Christmas Eve, joins that elite list of unlikely Christmas movies, and deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as those previous hits. Though you’ll be forgiven for watching this one right away rather than waiting for the seasonal sleigh bells to start to ring.

Havoc streams exclusively on Netflix from April 25th

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