Netflix unveils first look at Tom Hardy's explosive new action movie from director behind 'the best action movies ever'

Netflix has just dropped the first look at Tom Hardy's spellbinding performance in the new action-thriller set to hit our screens next year.

Star of Venom and Legend, Hardy is at the helm of this nail-biting flick where he plays a detective embroiled in a perilous mission to carry out an audacious rescue operation.

As his character plunges into the thick of the criminal underbelly, he's caught up in an expansive conspiracy that rattles the foundations of his city.

The highly anticipated movie, titled Havoc and slated for release in 2025, is under the direction of Gareth Evans, the mastermind behind the internationally praised martial arts epics The Raid and The Raid 2.

Fresh stills showcase Hardy plunging headfirst into fiery skirmishes and offer a glimpse at the film's co-star, Jessie Mei Li, who gained fame from Shadow and Bone, reports the Mirror.

With a cast boasting Timothy Olyphant, Forest Whitaker, as well as Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda, and Luis Guzman, the buzz is already escalating.

The plot summary sets the scene: "After a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician's estranged son, while unravelling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city."

Evans' work with The Raid movies has been hailed as some of the finest martial arts cinema this century has seen.

The Guardian lavished praise, declaring it "a stone-cold masterpiece", "one of the best action flicks ever made" and remarked that "in a little over a decade, The Raid has established itself as an action movie classic."

Empire praised the second movie for its intensity: "There is an astonishing amount of violent action here, doled out in hearty portions and captured with such an unflinching gaze that even the strongest stomach might spasm.

"Legs snap. Throats and knives interact. Heads are pulped into sausage-meat. Evans is a director who never knowingly underkills."

The series has garnered a dedicated fanbase beyond critics, with a Reddit user labelling the original as "my favourite action film".

"The story flows really well. With sinister overtones, and things going from bad to worse, teetering between doom and victory," they said.

"The fights are superhuman, making really good use of camera angles and top-rate fight-o-graphy."

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Another individual commented: "I personally thought the second one is actually better if you can get 2 and a half hours free for it. Both are my top two action movies of all time though, no doubt."

With a virtuoso like Evans guiding the reins, Havoc promises to be among the most thrilling and visually stunning films of the forthcoming year.

Havoc will be released in 2025 on Netflix.