Only with a handful of films and a series has director Gareth Evans brought it to an impressive fame in the area of violence. His brute “The Raid” series in particular enjoys a great reputation among fans of bloody, uncompromising FSK-18 action. The anticipation was correspondingly great when it was said that Evans plans a tribute to Hong Kong police triuses such as John Woos Action Cultural classic “A Better Tomorrow” as part of his Netflix deal.
However, the anticipation became a test of patience: in October 2021, around half a year after the film's official advance announcement, the end ended in Wales “Havoc”-Trhetan work -for the time being. The project then stuck in the post -production hole before Evans, various strikes and schedule led later, in the summer of 2024. Now “Havoc” finally sees the light of the streaming world-and despite a long, Harscher fight sequences and a compressed story, reminds that not everything is round just because it lasts for a long time.
Cop walker defends his skin brute.
Christmas is just around the corner: Walker (Tom Hardy) is a corrupt, opportunistic police officer among many and half -hearted to buy gifts for his daughter. But a drug deal goes wrong a few streets away, which sets a fatal chain reaction: a cop is violated life-threatening, imposed fractions of the underworld tears patience and the Bigotte politician Lawrence Beaumont (Forest Whitaker) must worry about his son's life and his own clean man image.
The walker, which has so far been humping on all conceivable sides, is in the middle of this conflict of interest, which is fueled by violence, despair, and revenge atomic. One thing quickly becomes clear: from this situation he will not be able to work without confessing to any side …
It is not easy to be corrupt
Gareth Evans, who is responsible for both the direction and the script, returns with “Havoc” in one respect to the recipe for success of his breakthrough “The Raid”: The Brutalo actioner told Stringent of a raid in which the heroes have to shoot, kick and stab-no further questions. The plot of “Havoc” is not so stringent and reduced, but it represents an efficient, massive hustle and bustle -buried alibi plot: Walker is a rugged, unkempt bull – a duck mouse that avoids any integrity and thus stands well for a long time with all conceivable ceasters.
But now all criminal political groups are angry, and Walker has to maneuver desperately by this vertebrae of violence, so that he ends up in the party well with the party that keeps the upper hand. Evans all sorts of dangers to let go of his backlogless heroes and story intermediate stations through ever new “Group X appears and lays down with person Z” constellations. Incidentally, Hardy thus receives a steep template to once again give himself as physically fitter, sweaty turning hair – a roller type that truly does not challenge it, but is doing well.
Tom Hardys Walker has to kill if he wants to live.
However, Evans has exaggerated in a different, decisive point of view with the reduction: all figures lack profile. This is too painful if most of them are only changing cannon food as in “The Raid”. In “Havoc”, on the other hand, the tension curve harms it enormously when, for example Forest Whitaker remain completely pale as a walker in the corner of urgent politicians.
The most likely “die Slow 4.0” villain Timothy Olyphant, who plays the velvety-diabolical police officer Vincent. Even Walker is swallowing his conscientlessness – and, not surprisingly, he does not hesitate to make hell hotly smiled to his comparatively heroic colleague.
The action is hard and rich, but the perfidious creativity is missing
But even Olyphant doesn't play as unleashed as we have already seen from the “Justified” star. It looks as if Evans had just left him on the short leash, which is why Vincent ultimately represents a casual nerve saw than a hate danger. You fever much less when he is in the combat female and the question arises whether it is finally put down. Even in the development of the henchmen and henchmen, there is a lack of creative sparks: unforgettable fighters who bring a breath of fresh wind with a striking look and a memorable combat style are in short supply in “Havoc”.
This is not used to this from Evans and his “Gangs of London” stunt coordinator Jude Poyer-and it inhibits the perfidious entertainment factor that comes from “Havoc”. In the end, there are only two action highlights in the entire film. And the points primarily through their excess in length and firepower: First of all, there would be the visual expectations with several supposed final points of triumph marathon in a night club in which various enemy groups and innocently interspersed into chaos cross-which flows into lead hail, bloodshed and isolated organ glibber.
Everything is broken, but Walker is salvation – at least halfway.
As much as Evans' bitter staging and the moving dramaturgy of this unpredictable sequence, there are a drop of bitterness: melee choreography is amazingly monotonous. Among other things, a hacking, a steel tube and a champagne bucket are piled up on people – and there is hardly any difference in between! It throws the victims of these attacks in almost identical movements, while digital blood and wobbly camera hide all kinds of scene. The inventiveness and the painful consequence that the choice of weapons brought with it, for example in “The Raid 2”, is in vain here.
The second highlight passage of “Havoc” plays in a secluded hut-and is not dramaturgically sophisticated, but captivates with more creative weapons and more effective, painful kills. Here, MMA size Michelle Waterson also mixes up as a determined killer and gets a relentless, sophisticated choreographed fight with Hardy. Evans plays his staging strengths fully. The complete opposite of this is various city night sequences: whether chase, motorized robbery or simple transition scene-they are all away from the dirty-heavy aesthetics of the rest of the film and remind you with shiny surfaces, light-facing cars and free-floating camera instead of “Need for Speed” video games. Here are probably the aftermath of production that Evans could not wrestle.
Conclusion: Violence specialist Gareth Evans bows in front of an action subgenre that massively influenced him-and only half of it: With regard to digital blood and permanent fire, the bitter cop action thriller “Havoc” provides what fans expect-but the creative madness that Evans' distinguishes earlier works.