Tom Hardy's most bruising action movie yet has just hit Netflix

Features
By published

From the creator of Gangs of London

Tom Hardy on the floor holding a shotgun
(Image credit: Netflix)

Action fans are in for a treat as Tom Hardy unleashes his most bruised and brooding action antihero in a fight-filled flick from the creator of The Raid and Gangs of London.

Streaming now on Netflix, Havoc is a crime thriller with an emphasis on spectacular fight scenes.

Hardy plays a grizzled cop facing off against corrupt lawmen, politicians and gangsters in a battle over the sons of the city's big bosses. Hardy has to protect some young witnesses while covering up his own dodgy past – but we're not really here for the plot. There's some heavyweight opposition in the form of Timothy Olyphant and Forest Whitaker, but the action is the main draw.

Once things kick off with a bruising fight in a nightclub, Havoc spirals out of control with limbs and bullets flying in equal measure.

The creatively choreographed mayhem is directed by Gareth Evans, the man behind Sky Atlantic's fight-filled crime drama Gangs of London, and before that, the landmark action franchise The Raid. His trademark flying camera follows each martial arts move and bone-crunching hit, as the dubious heroes wade through legions of doomed stuntmen.

Filmed in Wales, of all places (...though Evans is Welsh!), Havoc is absurdly fun when the fists are flying. You won't know whether to wince or laugh at the rapid-fire carnage of the finale, with Hardy alternating between machine guns and fists as he smashes bad guys through walls and even floors.

At one point, Hardy puts his real-life martial arts skills to the test against former Ultimate Fighting Championship martial artist Michelle Waterson-Gomez, in a blockbuster fight scene that literally brings the house down.

If you're in the mood for even more absurdly entertaining action, both The Raid and its more sprawling sequel, The Raid 2, are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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Richard Trenholm
Richard Trenholm
Freelance contributor

Richard is a movie-obsessed writer with nearly 20 years as a film, TV and technology journalist. A Rotten Tomatoes-certified movie critic and member of the Film Critics' Circle, he lives by the seaside and likes punk rock, Tranmere Rovers and helping out at the local film club.

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