Havoc, starring Tom Hardy, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker, is the newest Netflix exclusive actioner to really take off. As of right now it’s positioned number one on their list of most popular movies on the platform. Hardy stars as corrupt Homicide detective Patrick Walker, who is given consistent payments by Whitaker’s Lawrence Beaumont, a real estate tycoon and political heavyweight. Beaumont’s son, Charlie, and his friends recently stole some washing machines containing a shipment of cocaine and delivered it to Tsui, the head of the local Triad. When Tsui is murdered by a masked gang hired by Tsui’s former lieutenant, the blame is put on Charlie and his friends. Now, Beaumont has charged Walker with locating and protecting his son, not just from the ambitious Triad lieutenant and his foot soldiers, but from some of Walker’s colleagues, as well.
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When it comes to finding movies similar to Havoc, a few factors were considered. One, the similar film should be grounded in realism. Two, it should be action-packed. And three, if there was a twisty narrative, that was a plus.
Land of Bad
These days, it’s hard to tell which movies that go straight to streaming and home media are actually worth checking out. This is particularly true of action movies, with their interchangeable Blu-ray covers featuring big names you’re somewhat surprised are in something that didn’t go to theaters.
But to skip this type of movie entirely would be to miss out on some winners, like Land of Bad. Half the narrative focuses on Liam Hemsworth’s survivor of a soldier (who is nonetheless out of his element when lined up against the more combat-seasoned men by his side) and the man in his ear, nicknamed ‘Reaper’ (Russell Crowe). In other words, it’s part-breezy actioner and part-thoughtful analysis of how the consequences of combat affect someone who is sitting in a chair hundreds of miles away.
Stream Land of Bad on Netflix.
Rebel Ridge
Another major action thriller that dominated Netflix viewership charts when first released, Rebel Ridge is one of the streamer’s best original films to date. The narrative follows Lanterns‘ Aaron Pierre as a veteran of the Marines who cycles into a small town in Louisiana and sees how little things have changed. He’s carrying $36,000 in honest cash to post bail for his cousin, but the cops who ram into him on the bicycle refuse to see it as honest, jumpstarting a conflict that claims lives and sheds light on departmental corruption.
Rebel Ridge benefits from a terrific script, nail-biting action sequences, and a tremendous lead performance from Pierre. It wasn’t long after this that Pierre was announced for the role of John Stewart in Lanterns, and it’s easy to see why.
Stream Rebel Ridge on Netflix.
[RELATED: 7 Movies to Watch After Rebel Ridge]
Wrath of Man
A highly underrated Jason Statham vehicle, Guy Ritchie’s Wrath of Man is one of the best heist movies of the past 20 years. Like most of his other leading man movies, it’s a tale of revenge where one man goes up against what is essentially an army (the same of which could be said about Havoc to a degree).
The edge Wrath of Man has over something like Parker or The Working Man (both solid films), though, is its method of storytelling. The non-linear structure works very well for this particular story, and it’s a film that also comes equipped with particularly well-cast villains.
Stream Wrath of Man on Tubi.
Triple Frontier
Like Havoc, Triple Frontier is a heist gone wrong movie. It’s also star-studded and comes from a respected director. In the case of Havoc, it’s helmed by The Raid and The Raid 2‘s Gareth Evans. Triple Frontier came from J. C. Chandor and, while it’s not quite as solid as All Is Lost and A Most Violent Year, it’s certainly better than Kraven the Hunter.
The similarities don’t end there, either. Triple Frontier is also like Havoc in that it’s not the typically predictable actioner. Though, in Havoc it’s more about who will betray whom and, in Triple Frontier, it’s which A-list face on the poster won’t walk away from the robbery unscathed…or at all.
Stream Triple Frontier on Netflix.
The Order
In The Order, another cop on a mission story, the protagonists and antagonists are much more well-defined. In a narrative focusing on a bank robbing splinter of a white supremacist group, they’d have to be. Jude Law stars as Terry Husk, who reopens an investigation into the group when a former member is reported missing and found dead. He was part of a counterfeiting ring operating within Aryan Nations, the head of which denies knowing anything about. But when an even larger plot is uncovered, it’s up to Husk and his new young partner, Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan) to cut the head off the snake.
The Order was based on a true story, like Aryan Nations, the Order was a very real group in the United States in the 1980s. As the head of the Order, Robert Jay Mathews, Nicholas Hoult dominates the film, but kudos must also be given to Law, Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, and the films replication of the time period.
Stream The Order on Hulu.
