Gareth Evans is a Welsh director who’s best known for his work on The Raid franchise, where he made a name for himself as one of the boldest, most ambitious action filmmakers in the business. He’s known for his dynamic camerawork and fluid choreography, which manifests in almost every single one of his feature-length movies. Although the future of The Raid franchise is uncertain, Evans continues to make interesting projects that push him outside of his comfort zone. His 2025 action film, Havoc, is a perfect example of that.

Havoc is another brash, abrasive action movie that uses huge stunts and excessive violence to keep the audience locked into its story. While it’s not been as well-received as projects like The Raid, it’s a clear indicator that Evans hasn’t lost his touch when it comes to directing action sequences. There are very few directors who can execute lengthy fight choreography or complex stunt work like Evans, and that manifests throughout his entire filmography. Havoc’s lead star Tom Hardy has even praised Evans’ filmmaking, cementing him as one of the biggest talents in the genre.

6

Footsteps (2006)

Starring Nicholas Bool & Mads Koudal

Gareth Evans’ debut feature is also the director’s least-known project to date, and that’s not surprising given how messy and ambitious this feels in comparison to his more accessible, streamlined works. The film tells the story of a man called Andrew who encounters a dangerous psychopath known only as the Cameraman, who enjoys filming people being beaten and ᴀssaulted in a dark underpᴀss. Footsteps has a very bold and unsettling tone that certainly makes its story unforgettable, but it’s not always for the right reasons.

Footsteps feels very unlike the rest of Evans’ filmography, and that may be a reason why it’s often rated so poorly; those who’ve already enjoyed projects like The Raid and Apostle may not appreciate this methodical, low-budget horror quite as much. It’s a very difficult film to sit through at times, but admittedly, this sense of unease is always intentional. The film offers some interesting commentary on the link between crime and entertainment, but it doesn’t always reach a viable conclusion to the questions it raises.

5

Merantau (2009)

Starring Iko Uwais & Sisca Jessica

Merantau is another entry in Gareth Evans’ filmography that isn’t particularly well-known, but this certainly has more redeeming features than Footsteps. The reviews for Gareth Evans’ films are often mixed, and Merantau is a perfect example of that. While some audiences will fall head over heels with this ultra-stylized, visually bold storytelling of this action thriller, others will undoubtedly find its unique palette exhausting.

The story follows a talented fighter who travels to Jakarta in order to teach martial arts to young children, but soon crosses paths with a dangerous band of criminals on his journey and puts his own combat skills to the test. It’s a very loud, abrasive action movie that barely presses the brakes for a single second – those looking for a non-stop action ride will certainly find aspects to appreciate, but overall, it’s a film that bites off slightly more than it can chew.

4

Havoc (2025)

Starring Tom Hardy & Timothy Olyphant

Ten years after his previous action movie, Gareth Evans has returned with Havoc – another loud and brash spectacle with huge stakes and mᴀssive set pieces. But unlike Merantau, this project knows when to slow down and give the audience an opportunity to connect with the characters. It also helps that Tom Hardy’s lead performance displays the perfect levels of strength and vulnerability to make his character seem authentic, which is something that was missing from Evans’ early works.

Although Havoc doesn’t live up to Gareth Evans’ best movies, there are still plenty of elements to enjoy in this high-octane thriller. The narrative centers around a jaded detective who’s tasked with infiltrating the seedy underbelly of an unnamed American city, searching for the son of a high-profile politician in the process. What the story lacks in thematic depth, Havoc makes up for with complex characters, dynamic action scenes, and enough testosterone to atone for the ten-year wait.

3

The Raid 2 (2014)

Starring Iko Uwais & Julie Estelle

Gareth Evans’ The Raid franchise is often cited as the director’s magnum opus, and The Raid 2 does an excellent job of living up to its predecessor’s reputation. The director displays a perfect balance of filmmaking restraint and unadulterated action that’s exactly what audiences come to these movies for – but it’s the intricate plotting and compelling characters that separate this project from Evans’ more free-flowing action movies. It’s more than just the sum of the action sequences it’s remembered for.

The Raid 2 picks up shortly after the first film’s unforgettable conclusion, with protagonist Rama going undercover as a dangerous prisoner named Yuda in order to expose the corrupt police officers whose greed and selfishness have allowed the city’s crime syndicates to take control of the streets. The Raid 2 is one of the best action movies of the 2010s; it’s fast-paced, it has memorable characters, and the action scenes push the boundaries of what audiences thought filmmaking could do. The only thing holding it back is the story, which is slightly more linear and predictable than its predecessor.

2

Apostle (2018)

Starring Dan Stevens & Lucy Boynton

It may not strictly be his best, but Apostle is definitely Gareth Evans’ most underrated project to date. The film is very different from everything else the director has made before, ditching the action-packed maximalism of films like The Raid and Merantau for a more atmospheric, methodical piece of gothic folk horror that knows exactly how to get under the audience’s skin. The film is brimming with unsettling imagery and disturbing production design that relies on terror, not just action, to keep viewers invested.

Apostle tells the story of a young man named Thomas Richardson, who embarks on a dangerous journey to save his sister from a remote Welsh village that’s supposedly controlled by a deranged religious cult. The film is set in the early 20th century and really leans into the dark, supernatural setting that comes with much of the gothic literature from the Victorian period. Apostle feels like such a bold diversion from Evans’ typical form that it’s impossible not to admire the choice.

1

The Raid (2011)

Starring Iko Uwais & Yayan Ruhian

Evans has made plenty of action movies throughout his career, but popular consensus seems fixed on The Raid being his best – and it’s absolutely right. The film is such a bold and progressive example of how to push the action genre forward without viewers even really noticing; there’s so much slick camerawork and subtle editing tricks that it’s difficult to spot exactly what it is that makes The Raid so compelling, but it ultimately comes down to just how well-made it is.

The story itself is simple: The Raid follows a group of police officers who storm into the safehouse of a dangerous drug lord, find themselves trapped inside, and have to survive as long as it takes to bring their target down. It’s a very basic survival thriller, but it works perfectly. There’s been talk of The Raid 3 potentially happening in the future, and if Gareth Evans wants to return to the subversive, unpredictable action filmmaking that he became famous for, that seems like the safest route.