NetflixHavoc is set to be one of the best action movies of the year, so we asked the director and cast – including Tom Hardy – to pick their favourite entries in the genre.
New Netflix movie Havoc has impressive pedigree, as it’s written and directed by Gareth Evans, the man responsible for action masterpieces The Raid and The Raid 2.
The film also stars Tom Hardy, who played the title character in another action classic, Mad Max: Fury Road.
The resulting new movie delivers, via spectacular car chases and fights in a tale of cops and robbers all searching for a politician’s son. You can read our Havoc review here, while below we asked the main players to pick their favorite action movies.
Why Hard Boiled and Heat are the greatest action movies ever
Golden Princess Film ProductionWriter-director Gareth Evans says that the 1992 Hong Kong thriller Hard Boiled is the greatest action movie. “I just don’t think it’s ever been topped,” says Evans. “It’s John Woo at his absolute peak.
“It’s interesting because story-wise, I prefer The Killer. I’m more engaged in The Killer. But as pure action nirvana, Hard Boiled for me, every set-piece – the tea house, the warehouse, the finale in the hospital that goes on for 55 minutes – it’s got everything I love in action cinema.”
Tom Hardy – who plays Detective Walker in Havoc – has multiple answers, picking action sequences as much as movies, as he explains:
“There are certain scenes in films that aren’t necessarily action films that I get drawn into, and I go ‘that’s really compelling for a specific nature.’ Where I become immersed in the physicality of people.
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“For example, Saving Private Ryan, the opening scene of that, when that first came out. Elite Squad. District 13, where we started to see free-running.
“There are certain movements in the stunt world where things suddenly change. Somebody brings something, and it could be from anywhere. Where you see a sudden mobility or kinetic action come alive with character and story.
“It doesn’t have to be a whole movie, it can just be a set piece. Like the gun battle in Heat, Black Hawk Down… there are moments where everybody in the stunt world goes, “Do you remember that moment?” And it becomes a flick-book of optionality where people go ‘A little bit of this, and a little bit of that,’ and pushing the envelope a bit.”
Warner Bros.Quelin Sepulveda – who plays Mia in Havoc – says: “The Matrix. I’m obsessed. I think I quote it once a day. I watch it two or three times a year. I actually watched it at the Prince Charles Cinema a few weeks ago.”
While her co-star Justin Cornwell – who plays Charlie – agrees: “The Matrix is great because it changed the game, not only for sci-fi, but for action as well, with the bullet-time stuff and all of the combat. But I think maybe something like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon… and The Matrix.”
You can read our Havoc ending explained here. While for Dexerto’s picks, check out our list of the best action movies of all time, while these are new movies streaming on Netflix this month.