Havoc

Beneath the waves of blood and bullets, Havoc hints at a character-driven morality tale plus a saga about vengeance and redemption in an unforgiving world.

Such nuances are strictly secondary, however, to the barrage of slick yet gritty action sequences in this ultraviolent crime thriller, staged with visceral intensity thanks to hand-held camerawork and dynamic choreography.

Within the framework of a familiar genre exercise emphasizing spectacle over substance, the latest from director Gareth Evans (The Raid) struggles to escalate the emotional stakes alongside the body count.

It depicts a bleak urban landscape of desperation and socioeconomic despair, overrun with crime and corruption, populated with rogues and schemers just trying to survive.

Walker (Tom Hardy) is a detective burdened with psychological scars and personal turmoil, much of it self-inflicted in the aftermath of a narcotics deal in which he may or may not have been complicit.

He’s trying to atone for his misconduct while teaming up with an ambitious new partner (Jessie Mei Li), but some of the others involved aren’t as fortunate, including Charlie (Justin Cornwell), the estranged son of a shady politician (Forest Whitaker) to whom Walker owes a favor.

That drags Walker into a mess involving a ruthless crime syndicate who abducts Charlie, and a high-ranking police colleague (Timothy Olyphant) with some ethical challenges of his own.

With a brash, loose-cannon demeanor, the streetwise Walker becomes a vigilante trying to clean up the city while someone seeking revenge is lurking around every corner.

Evans knows how to stage relentless chases and confrontations. However, the slick visual flourishes outshine his screenplay, which in many ways is a formulaic procedural where the clues and revelations aren’t as important as the attitude with which they’re unveiled.

Highlights include an opening police pursuit involving an 18-wheeler, an extended brawl inside a crowded nightclub, and a climactic orgy of weaponry and savagery inside a remote cabin.

Hardy thrives in his comfort zone as a brooding and enigmatic antihero forced to confront his own checkered past. He uses Walker’s inner conflict and erratic outbursts to generate hard-earned sympathy.

The second half is quite an adrenaline rush. Still, without much consistent suspense or meaningful subtext, aside from its set pieces, Havoc winds up as generic as its title.

Rated R, 105 minutes.