Havoc
hit the ground running with some serious buzz. Imagine a high-stakes, heart-thumping action thriller where the stakes are life or death—literally. Tom Hardy stars as a detective caught up in a lethal cycle of substances and hard-as-nails criminals, with one goal- to save a politician’s son
. Directed by The Raid’s
Gareth Evans, it was billed to be a game-changer for Netflix’s action genre, combining gritty realism with relentless action.
At first, the excitement was off the charts. Fans were hungry for a new Evans masterpiece, and Hardy’s involvement only fueled the flames. Everyone was ready for an adrenaline-packed ride. But did all the hype deliver, or did it fall short of the explosive expectations?
Tom Hardy’s action flick packs a punch, but does not quite hit the target
What does Tom Hardy do when he enters a den with a badge, fists, and a whole lot of corruption? Netflix’s Havoc
answers just that—with blood, bullets, and some seriously mixed reviews. Released on April 25, 2025, this dark thriller has made its official entry on US screens
. But did it hit hard or just bruise lightly? With a mid-level 69% score on Rotten Tomatoes
, critics seem torn, making this crime-fueled chaos a divided hit.
Tom Hardy’s opening monologue in HAVOC. A new film from Gareth Evans.
Now playing. pic.twitter.com/9yXMXPdTTl
— Netflix (@netflix) April 25, 2025
The chilling first-look of Havoc
had fans hyped
, but the ratings and reviews now do not quite match that buzz. The Guardian noted that the film brings “gonzo gun mayhem”
but lacks depth. Filmed entirely in Wales, the film cleverly disguises Welsh streets as an unnamed American city. With a cast featuring Jessie Mei Li, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker
, Havoc
may not blow minds, but it just might be worth watching once. While Havoc
’s release may have landed with a mid-range score, the story behind its making is anything but average.
Read More: Tom Hardy’s ‘HAVOC’ on Netflix: What Is This New Crime Thriller About? Here’s All We Know
The journey from wrap to release was far from straightforward. With a series of challenges that pushed the film’s timeline into unexpected territory, making its behind-the-scenes story far more compelling than its score suggests.
Gareth Evans breaks down Havoc’s delays and reshoots
The road to Havoc
’s release was not a smooth drive—it was more like a wild chase. Gareth Evans, the mastermind behind The Raid
, opened up about the long road to completing Havoc
. The film wrapped back in October 2021, but the cameras rolled again almost two years later. Why? Evans revealed to Film Stories that it was all about fixing key story threads
. The challenge? Getting the original cast back to Cardiff
for one week of additional shooting.
FINALLY, 💥 HAVOC NEWS, FROM DIRECTOR GARETH EVANS 👏🏻
The reshoots that will complete the film began!
This car scene looks like one they did with Tom Hardy and he was inside, so he must be around there 👀
Which makes me think, then why couldn’t Tom attend the Bikeriders (+) pic.twitter.com/8ewnuKV6JS
— Irene 💍 (@TomHardyMyKing) July 8, 2024
There was more to it than just scheduling woes, though. As Evans had revealed in his recent interview with Film Stories, the 2023 WGA and SAG strikes caused further delays when things were finally falling into place
. The team had to pause for “seven or eight months”
before reshoots could resume in summer 2024. However, this unplanned break, as he put it, let them truly focus
on what the story needed—no rushed fixes, just sharper storytelling.
Read More: Netflix Adds 5 New Entries to Its Global Top 10, Including a 2006 Action Thriller at #2
With Havoc
earning a mid-range rating, did it live up to the hype, or fall flat? Let us know in the comments!
