Sometimes you just need to see Tom Hardy grunting, bleeding and smashing everything in his path. Havoc doesn't pretend to reinvent anything. It's pure, hard-hitting genre cinema, where what matters is the impact of the punches, the camera work in the fights, and the atmosphere of decay that runs through the whole film. And in all of that, it delivers. The story is nothing we haven't seen before: an undercover cop in a drug-dealing hell, a child to rescue, a system rotten from top to bottom. But Gareth Evans knows how to make it engaging. The script works, the characters are believable within the genre, and above all, the production design is top-notch. Every corridor, apartment, and alley seems infected by violence and corruption. The action sequences are intense, brutal and never gratuitous. And Tom Hardy, of course, is perfect in this kind of role. He speaks little, acts with his body, and turns each scene into a test of resistance. You can feel the weight of each blow and each choice. It may not be a movie for everyone, but for fans of the genre and Evans’ cinema (The Raid, Gangs of London), it's a satisfying return. There are excesses, yes, and some narrative wandering, but everything fits thanks to direction that is sharp and confident. It's one of the best action films of the year so far.