Netflix has unveiled the official full-length trailer for Havoc, a high-octane action movie starring Tom Hardy, Forest Whitaker and Timothy Olyphant that’s directed by Gareth Evans, who previously helmed The Raid. The trailer, which depicts a remarkable montage of violence featuring bullet-riddled bodies to fierce-hand-to hand-combat and even a bit of knife fighting, is designed as an homage to the gory Hong Kong action flicks of the ’80s and ’90s. Netflix is just the latest streamer to showcase Hardy’s considerable action chops, along with Paramount+ and its new British mobster series MobLand.
Havoc‘s official plot synopsis reads: “Walker (Tom Hardy) is a bruised detective fighting his way through the criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with a number of factions on his tail; a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, as well as his fellow cops. When attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.” The film is further described as Evans’ “love letter to the heroic bloodshed genre” of the old-school Hong Kong film industry. It co-stars Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, Luis Guzmán, Michelle Waterson, Sunny Pang, Jim Caesar, Xelia Mendes-Jones and Yeo Yann Yann.
In a recent interview with Evans for Empire, the writer/director said of Hardy’s character, “He’s a morally compromised homicide detective, who, two days before Christmas, just wants to get presents for his daughter and reconcile his relationship with them. There was an intent with the design of the trailer to let people know that this will get quite gnarly in places. It was a baptism of fire.” Havoc premieres on Netflix on April 25, watch the trailer below.
