SPOILER SPECIAL
HAVOC
GARETH EVANSON THE SHOOTOUTS AND STANDOUTS OF HIS ACTION THRILLER
WORDS CHRIS HEWITT
GARETH EVANS’ MUCH-DELAYED return to action movies, HAVOC (note the all-caps title, a promise to an audience if ever there was one), was worth the wait, with the Welsh director delivering a hard-boiled, neon-drenched thriller that explodes into life (and lots of death) for its last hour. Here, Evans talks with Empire about some of the movie’s key moments. Some of which don’t even involve anyone being shot.
THE SCENE-SETTER
The movie begins in reflective mode, as we meet Tom Hardy’s grizzled, guilt-ridden cop, Walker, ruminating on his lot in life in a voice-over that was a very late addition to the movie. “I was torn about it, because we don’t use voice-over at any other point in the film,” admits Evans. “I understood how it would function in the opening of the film. From the get-go, you have a full understanding of the weight on Tom’s shoulders, without knowing how it exactly played out. But I didn’t want to have a voiceover to close the film.”