Havoc

Netflix action films are pretty much as generic as you can get these days, and rarely offer anything that stands out.  Enter Gareth Evans, the director who gave us the sublime brutal fury of The Raid and The Raid 2, hopefully to shake things up a little and deliver something that stands out among the dirge of typical streaming content.

In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, a run down detective, Patrick Walker (Tom Hardy), is tasked by Forest Whitaker’s politician Lawrence Beaumont to rescue his estranged son who was caught up in the deal.  Walker’s battle into the criminal underworld begins to unravel a deep web of corruption that permeates the city, with links to the police and city council.

Okay, so far so generic, and for the first half hour this trod extremely familiar ground.  Hardy’s Walker is grizzled and rough edged, with his own involvement in degrees of corruption which have made him a puppet for Beaumont.  Hardy plays the role well, adopting an accent as he is wont to do, but thankfully not to the indecipherable levels he normally gravitates.  As he begins his descent into the underworld, clashing with not only crime bosses and henchmen, but also Timothy Olyphant’s corrupt cop, Vincent, the film starts to ramp up, and whilst it could be argued that there is maybe a little too much being thrown in the mix, as the film passes the halfway stage and descends into the style of action that Evans is known for, any of the prior struggles are swiftly forgotten.

That last half more than makes up for the struggling start, with a barrage of stunningly choreographed fights delivered in rapid succession, with one key scene in particular in a nightclub more than standing out as multiple parties clash.  There are, unfortunately, a few overdone CGI blood splashes that taint even the most impressive of action beats, but this doesn’t diminish the impact of the moments too much.

With a vibe that reminded me of early John Woo, the characters may be sketched out as simple archetypes, and the plot may be a tad overstuffed, but damn if this wasn’t a lot of fun.  Hardy holds the central role together well enough, but definitely benefits from the strong support around him – especially Olyphant who is always great when playing a villain-type role.

Whilst not entirely original, this is, however, a refreshingly fun action fest for the streamer, and stands far above other output they have released in recent years (with the exception of Extraction and its sequel).  Not Gareth Evans’ best, but a solid way to pass some time.