The Only Hero of Tom Hardy’s 'Havoc' Is the Stunt Coordinator

Something that is always a dead giveaway that a studio or streamer has no faith in a film is when it’s released in one season while so clearly being set in another. Havoc, the Netflix action movie starring Tom Hardy as an anti-hero cop with a perplexing “working-class New York” accent, is set at Christmastime. The film’s premise is that this series of events is supposed to unfold within 24 hours, spanning Christmas Eve and Christmas Day*.

(*I think, but I’m not sure. Timelines are sketchy here, and things seem to move at a ‘Hotel Reverie'-like speed).

Written and directed by Gareth Evans (Gangs of London) and greenlit way back in 2021, it’s a project of shoot-em-ups, action sequences, and corrupt cops that was clearly written with the directive of “get in on that ‘Die Hard is a Christmas movie’ debate.” Except that Havoc did not premiere on December 25. It arrives instead in mid-spring, on April 25.