April 2025 is a very busy month for Netflix subscribers. Indeed, in addition to the series Asterix & Obelix: The Battle of the Chiefs directed by Alain Chabat, scheduled for April 30, the platform with the red N has just added this new action film to its catalog, as brutal as it is exciting.
Netflix's latest bombshell that's devastating everything
Friday, April 25, 2025 is a big day for action movie fans. Indeed, it's on this day that Netflix has chosen to release one of its most anticipated films: Gareth Evans' Havoc. If the name of this Welsh director rings a bell, it's only natural! In just a few films, Gareth Evans has risen to the top of action cinema, notably thanks to The Raid and The Raid 2, as well as the first season of the series Gangs of London, which he supervised and for which he directed a few episodes. Expected since 2021 and delayed due to Hollywood strikes, Ravage carried the promise of bloody gunfights and extremely savage combat.
The film tells the story of Walker (played by Englishman Tom Hardy), tasked with finding the son of a powerful politician (Forrest Whitaker), who found himself at the heart of a settling of scores between drug traffickers. Paying homage to the hard-boiled, Ravage does not particularly shine with its storyline, which fits on a post-it note and accumulates the clichés of this very codified genre. The main quality of the film lies rather in the impeccable direction of Gareth Evans. With his characteristic rigor, the Welsh filmmaker impresses both with the clarity of his fight scenes and his ability to take advantage of both the build of his lead actor and the organization of his sets.
Wanting to pay homage to Hong Kong action cinema, and more specifically to John Woo and Tsui Hark, Gareth Evans signs a wild and brutal action film which, without equaling his previous works, manages to knock out the other sanitized action films on the platform. And for that alone, we are extremely grateful to him. It is also in first place in the Netflix France top, based on audiences in the territory. It has surpassed Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra by Alain Chabat, recently added to the catalog. Furthermore, viewers seem to particularly appreciate the new feature film (while recognizing its writing flaws), as evidenced by these reactions that we collected on the social network X.
#Ravage does the job. We approve of Tom Hardy as a really hot cop, who manages the Triads and other pursuers with big guns. The fights are brutal and the shootouts are bloody. Action that hits hard. Watch out for carnage, it's going to leave stains. On @NetflixFR pic.twitter.com/fJMI2eqlET
— JAX69 (@JaxT69) April 25, 2025
After The Good Apostle, Gareth Evans' new Netflix offering obviously suffers from comparison with his previous cult diptych The Raid, a masterpiece of the genre. action movie. However, it would be a lie to say that #Ravage isn't the muscle-bound action movie we were hoping for. pic.twitter.com/ta2D7bIfPq
— (@BllMathis) April 25, 2025
After a complex production, #Havoc/#Ravage unleashes its pretextual scenario in a Woo-esque/Tarantinesque fury between gang warfare, graphic violence, urban settings, and explosive action scenes.
— Watz Up (@WATZUPMAG) April 25, 2025
Gareth "The Raid" Evans shoots the lens. Reload on @NetflixFR. pic.twitter.com/bIwy4dDewY
Not everything works, and it's sometimes exhausting, but Gareth Evans has what it takes. He shoots in every sense of the word with true mastery. And just for at least two crazy scenes and an involved Tom Hardy it's worth it #Ravage pic.twitter.com/5y12lC53uw
— Fred Teper (@cliffhangertwit) April 25, 2025
What a treat "Ravage" ("Havoc" in the original version) \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25
— Xavi McBeal (@XaviMcBeal) April 25, 2025
The opening scene, the traffic jam, the disco, the hospital, the shack: pure action \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25
It's written and directed by Gareth Evans, who directed the fabulous Indonesian film "The Raid".#Ravage #Havoc #Netflix pic.twitter.com/Z0A7BuFeaY
Rarely have we laughed so much in the face of so much exuberance and gore. It's non-stop, a real treat. Congratulations to #Havoc #Ravage which, with a rather light script, achieves, through its "always more" staging, a quintessence of the action film.https://t.co/oDA5xm2ioz
— Cyrille Varnier - The Big Picture (@cvrlh) April 25, 2025
A sort of cross between an extended episode of Gangs of London, an adaptation of Max Payne and a tribute to John Woo where each body takes 28 bullets, #Havoc (#Ravage) doesn't match Gareth Evans' previous works but remains a very enjoyable romp. pic.twitter.com/qG0bncCLZv
— Nicolas Lemerle (@Daemon_Cash) April 25, 2025
#Ravage @NetflixFR: We have to put aside the abundance of visual effects in the night scenes that give us soapbox syndrome in the car chases, but when the fight is close, Gareth Evans is still one of the best at doing good by doing bad. pic.twitter.com/JhPMSLwSda
— Cinéphage0073 (@Cinephage0073) April 25, 2025
#Havoc on @netflix it's #GarethEvans who proves he's still the best at filming action in its cruelest definition. Fights, gunfights, and hemoglobin in sequences that are as crazy as ever! The best thing I've seen on the platform this year pic.twitter.com/dW6YQXaEvm
— Georgio's Stories (@JosephGeorgio) April 25, 2025
Did you like this article? Then don't hesitate to discover our selection of the best Hong Kong films.
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