greatest action movies ever made. The filmmaker is Gareth Evans, the mastermind behind The Raid movies, and he brings much of the same talent to his latest outing.

Havoc follows an ambitious detective who must fight his way through the dirty underworld of an unnamed American city to reclaim the kidnapped son of a high-profile politician. It blends much of the same claustrophobic filmmaking as the Raid movies with a more personal, character-driven narrative about sacrifice and vengeance. Havoc certainly isn’t Evans’ best movie, but it still proves that the acclaimed filmmaker knows how to leave a mark on the action genre.

The Raid Movies Are Action Classics That Elevated The Genre For The 2010s

Very Few Movies Were As Innovative As The Raid

The Raid movies are some of the most important and innovative action movies ever made, not just because of how engaging their stories are, but because of how dramatically they pushed the action genre forward in the 2010s. Their dynamic choreography and tight camerawork clearly inspired projects like John Wick and Extraction, while the clear focus on integrating the location into the story is something that’s mirrored in films such as Bullet Train and The Equalizer.

From these comparisons alone, it’s clear that action cinema wouldn’t be in the place that it is today without Evans’ work on The Raid and The Raid 2. The films contributed strongly to the shift from the overt maximalism of the ‘90s to the more subtle, enclosed action of the 2010s. Perhaps the most exciting aspect to come from Havoc is the news that Evans has considered making The Raid 3, which would certainly end up being among the most anticipated action movies ever.

Gareth Evans Returned To The Action Genre With Havoc - How It Compares

His Latest Movie Isn't Quite As Revolutionary

Ultimately, Havoc doesn’t come close to reaching the same heights that Evans achieved with the Raid movies, but that’s not to say it’s without merit. There’s plenty of exciting action that pays homage to the director’s previous works, and Tom Hardy’s performance is surprisingly compelling, but it’s the screenplay where Havoc quickly falls behind. The story is way too convoluted and often gets lost in the details, whereas The Raid movies thrive in their simplicity.

This disparity is unfortunately reflected in Havoc’s Rotten Tomatoes score, which currently sits at just 67%, with an audience score of 36%. Compare this with The Raid’s 87% and The Raid 2’s 83%, and it’s not hard to see why some audiences were disappointed with Gareth Evans’ latest feature.

Could Havoc Get A Sequel Like The Raid Did?

The Raid 2 Was Just As Brilliant As The First

The ending of Havoc clearly leaves room for a potential sequel by leaving Walker’s fate undetermined, but there’s been no official comment on whether this is actually Evans’ intention. The director hasn’t confirmed that he’s working on a sequel, so it’s more likely that this ambiguous ending was merely included to leave the possibility on the table. The mixed critical reception makes it even more unlikely that Havoc 2 will happen, but Netflix has certainly financed sequels for worse movies.

These movies are clearly the director’s ion project, and Havoc proves that he’s still got that magic touch when it comes to directing action scenes in an unpredictable, immersive way.

The best option for Evans’ filmography at this point, instead of making a risky sequel to the mediocre Havoc, is to start working on The Raid 3. These movies are clearly the director’s ion project, and Havoc proves that he still has that magic touch when it comes to directing action scenes in an unpredictable, immersive way. Havoc was a fun experiment, but it shouldn’t be anything more than that.