Upamanyu Biswas
Netflix’s ‘Havoc’ ends on an ambiguous note after Walker pushes himself to his limits to escape the cycle of corruption that has engulfed his life and compromised his morality. While the movie is stacked to the brim with bone-crunching action scenes, the final moments are laced with a sense of poignancy and sobriety as Walker finally comes to terms with his past sins. The same is true for other characters, who finally receive the opportunity to show their better nature without falling into the same traps as before. However, it comes at a huge cost, showcasing the perils of a life twisted by crime and death. To that end, the movie’s last scene leaves behind questions about Walker’s fate and whether his choice to do the right thing had the ultimate price. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Havoc Plot Synopsis
As the movie begins, we are provided a brief glimpse into Walker’s mind as he recalls an incident in his past that haunts him. We subsequently learned that he is a cop. On Christmas Eve, he buys a last-minute gift from a local convenience store before asking his ex-wife if he can stop by the house. She does not want him around their daughter. Walker is distracted by his new partner, Ellie, who creates a ruckus while trying to subdue a domestic abuser. They head back to the car together. Meanwhile, in another part of town, a group of robbers are being chased down by some cops. They manage to get away after throwing a washing machine out the back, which lands on one of the cop cars, injuring the driver – Cortez. His partners, Vincent, Hayes, and Jake, are devastated by Cortez’s accident and take him to the hospital.
After the frenetic car chase is over, the robbers, who are led by a couple named Charlie and Mia, stop by a Chinese gang hideout. With the stolen valuables in hand, Charlie and Mia enter the hideout to meet with their buyer/associate, Tsui Fong. While they conduct their business inside, three masked gunmen drive into the alley in a van. One of the gangsters, named Ching, receives a text on his phone from the masked men asking him to walk away while there is still time. They subsequently exit the vehicle with assault rifles in hand. Later, while driving around the city with Ellie, Walker receives a distress call about multiple homicides at Fong’s hideout. He arrives there and finds a bloodbath, including Tsui Fong’s body. Surveillance footage gathered by the authorities reveals Charlie’s identity to Walker.
Devastated by Tsui Fong’s death, his mother, Clarice, visits the morgue to see her dead son’s body. Subsequently, she issues an order to the entire gang to hunt down Fong’s killer, who they believe is Charlie, because of the CCTV footage. We also learn during this exchange that Ching is Clarice’s brother, which makes him Fong’s uncle. Elsewhere, Walker visits Lawrence Beaumont, a local real estate mogul who is also running for the mayorship. The cop shows him Charlie’s footage in Fong’s hideout because the boy is actually Lawrence’s estranged son. Walker promises to get Charlie out of trouble in exchange for Lawrence letting Walker go from his payroll. The protagonist has been carrying out dirty deeds for Lawrence for a while, leaving him with many moral scruples. However, getting Charlie back could be his ticket to a clear conscience.
Havoc Ending: Is Walker Dead or Alive?
As Walker begins his quest to find Charlie and Mia, he quickly uncovers a bigger conspiracy at play, one involving his colleagues – Vincent, Hayes, and Jake. Meanwhile, Clarice’s belief that Charlie killed her son also complicates matters further as she sends throngs of men and women from her triad to hunt down the Beaumont boy, even kidnapping Lawrence to find his whereabouts sooner. It results in numerous gunfights, hand-to-hand combat scenes, and chaotic sequences that stretch across the Medusa Club and the hospital. Eventually, Walker manages to rescue Charlie and Mia and take them to his father’s fishing shack. However, their cover is blown as Clarice arrives with Lawrence and her men to finish the job once and for all. A colossal fight takes place in the remote spot, with Walker pushing himself to his extremes.
While the fight eventually ends in favor of the triad, Ellie arrives with Vincent, Jake, and Hayes to tell Clarice that she is after the wrong person. Another flurry of action follows, during which Walker regains consciousness. When he wakes up, he notices that Vincent is walking away from the spot with the stolen goods in hand. The protagonist follows him and finishes him off at the train yard. However, it comes at the cost of Vincent blowing a hole through him. As Walker sits down on the train track, Ellie arrives to talk to him. Although she is willing to hand Walker’s daughter the gift he bought for her, he rejects the notion, stating that he does not want to ruin her Christmas. He tells Ellie that she is a good cop and that she should arrest him while a slew of cop cars descends over the horizon.
In the final moments, the camera zooms into Walker’s face as he stares at the police vehicles moving towards him. However, his unblinking gaze gives off the impression that he may have succumbed to his wound from earlier. The movie cuts away before we get a confirmation of his fate. As such, the answer to Walker’s dead or alive status may be more thematic in nature. Considering the sins he has been burdening for a while, Walker’s dying makes sense as it allows him the opportunity to pass away in a noble fashion after doing the right thing. Yet, throughout the movie, we see Walker fight endlessly to redeem himself no matter what. Thus, his death depends on whether we think he deserves to live or die based on his actions. To that end, it is likely that he survives and goes to prison because he proves his worth and escapes his ghosts by making the right choices. It also leaves the door open for a potential sequel.
Why Does Lawrence Sacrifice Himself? What Happens to Charlie and Mia?
Walker is not the only one seeking redemption throughout the movie. The same can be said for Lawrence Beaumont, the sleazy mayoral candidate who is corrupt and more concerned about his political ambitions than the meaningful things in his life. When the story begins, the character is shown to be a seedy overlord, keeping tabs on Walker and blackmailing him into doing dirty deeds. The actions weigh heavily on Walker but not so much on Lawrence. However, when he learns that his son Charlie is in danger because of Tsui Fong’s murder, Lawrence changes his tune and urges Walker to find him no matter what. It shows that despite his Machiavellian tendencies, the boy holds an important spot in his heart, which becomes all the more prominent during the fight at Walker’s fishing hut.
Once the triad overwhelms Walker, Charlie, and Mia with their forces, they take the latter two outside and hold them under gunpoint while Clarice drives in with Lawrence. The matriarch then hands Lawrence a loaded pistol, telling him that he needs to kill Charlie’s girlfriend to ensure that his son survives. Clarice believes this is an adequate and equal punishment for Charlie killing her son. Unbeknownst to her, she has the wrong person in her custody. There is so much miscommunication going on all around that neither party ever clarifies the truth of the subject. It all comes out eventually when Ellie, Ching, and Vincent arrive on the scene. The timing is impeccable as it saves Lawrence, Charlie, and Mia from meeting an untimely demise.
Unfortunately, Hayes manages to get his hands on a weapon, using it to aim at Charlie and Mia. Lawrence notices the movement and steps in front of the gun before it fires. He takes the bullets intended for his son and Mia. Subsequently, Charlie mourns for his father as he passes away in his arms. Despite a lifetime of bad deeds, Lawrence sacrifices himself for his son, showing that Charlie means more to him than anything else. It all pays off ultimately as Charlie avenges his father by killing Hayes. It serves as a full circle moment for him as he forgives his dad and also ends the last thing tethering him to his old life. With the action over, Charlie and Mia get in a car and drive away, seeking a new life away from the chaos they just witnessed.
Who Kills Tsui Fong? Why?
While Tsui Fong’s death seems like a straightforward event at the start, it proves to be far more complicated as Walker investigates the crime. The real killers were actually Vincent, Jake, and Hayes, who raided the hideout wearing demon masks, hoping to find the drugs Charlie and Mia stole. Ching was aware of the cops and their intentions but decided not to help Fong. His reasons were personal. After his father passed away, the operation’s running was handed over to Clarice, which angered Ching. As a result, he always sought revenge against his sister for taking away what he felt was rightfully his. Additionally, Ching had a bad relationship with Fong, who was always dismissive of him. Thus, when the opportunity presented itself, he stood by while the dirty cops took out Tsui Fong.
Charlie and Mia managed to escape the attack, which subsequently led Clarice to believe that they had killed her son. However, she is blindsided by emotion and does not realize there is more at stake. She pursues them in a fit of rage, even abducting Lawrence to get an advantage in the search. It all proves to be futile as she never considers the fact that the threat could be lurking so close to home. She is stunned to discover the truth from Ching later. Before she can exact her revenge, Ching takes her out and starts firing on Vincent. The infighting between the groups only ends up thinning the herd. Later, Walker and Ellie can clean up the remaining enemies with help from Charlie and Mia. Still, it leaves a question in everyone’s mind about what might have happened if people had been truthful from the start rather than playing games of subterfuge.
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