In the last twenty years, there has perhaps been no one filmmaker more influential on the course of action cinema than Gareth Evans. Speaking as an action fan who’s been following his career religiously since 2009, I believe that his body of work, as a director, writer, and editor, merits a comprehensive and thorough examination through the lens of auteur theory.
I couldn’t find one online, so I figured I’d do it, and that’s this project. Enjoy!
Gareth Evans Films, Chronological
- Footsteps (2006) (Not Very Good)
- Merantau (2009) (Very Good)
- The Raid (2011) (Masterpiece: Tour De Good)
- Safe Haven (from V/H/S/2) (2013) (Very Good)
- The Raid 2 (2014) (Exceptionally Good)
- Pre Vis Action (2016) (Good)
- Apostle (2018) (Nearly Good)
- Gangs of London (TV series) (2020)
- Season 1 (Good)
- Season 2 (Nearly Good)
Gareth Evans Films, Ranked
(Ranking to be updated as reviews are published)
- The Raid (2011) (Masterpiece: Tour De Good)
- The Raid 2 (2014) (Exceptionally Good)
- Safe Haven (from V/H/S/2) (2013) (Very Good)
- Merantau (2009) (Very Good)
- Pre Vis Action (2016) (Good)
- Apostle (2018) (Nearly Good)
- Footsteps (2006) (Not Very Good)
| Title | Date | Film Year | Director | Is It Good | Tags |
|---|
| Gangs of London, Season 2, Episode 8 | 09/12/2024 | 2022 | Hardy, Colin | 3 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 2, Episode 7 | 08/30/2024 | 2022 | Hardy, Corin | 6 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 2, Episode 6 | 08/11/2024 | 2022 | Nourizadeh, Nima | 4 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 2, Episode 5 | 07/21/2024 | 2022 | Nourizadeh, Nima | 3 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 2, Episode 4 | 07/09/2024 | 2022 | Said, Marcela | 4 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 2, Episode 3 | 06/16/2024 | 2022 | Said, Marcela | 4 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 2, Episode 2 | 06/08/2024 | 2022 | Hardy, Corin | 3 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 2, Episode 1 | 05/15/2024 | 2022 | Hardy, Corin | 5 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 1, Episode 9 | 04/30/2024 | 2020 | Hardy, Corin | 5 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 1, Episode 8 | 04/11/2024 | 2020 | Gens, Xavier | 3 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 1, Episode 7 | 04/02/2024 | 2020 | Gens, Xavier | 4 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 1, Episode 6 | 03/15/2024 | 2020 | Gens, Xavier | 3 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 1, Episode 5 | 02/28/2024 | 2020 | Evans, Gareth | 7 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 1, Episode 4 | 02/15/2024 | 2020 | Hardy, Corin | 6 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 1, Episode 3 | 01/31/2024 | 2020 | Hardy, Corin | 6 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 1, Episode 2 | 01/17/2024 | 2020 | Hardy, Corin | 5 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London, Season 1, Episode 1 | 01/03/2024 | 2020 | Evans, Gareth | 6 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne, Gangs of London |
| Gangs of London (2020) | 01/03/2024 | 2020 | Evans, Gareth | | Featured Post, Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne |
| Apostle (2018) | 12/20/2023 | 2018 | Evans, Gareth | 4 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne |
| Pre Vis Action (2016) | 12/15/2023 | 2016 | Evans, Gareth | 5 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne |
| The Raid 2 (2014) | 12/10/2023 | 2014 | Evans, Gareth | 7 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne |
| Safe Haven (from V/H/S/2) (2013) | 12/01/2023 | 2013 | Evans, Gareth | 6 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne |
| The Raid (2011) | 11/28/2023 | 2011 | Evans, Gareth | 8 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne |
| Merantau (2009) | 11/23/2023 | 2009 | Evans, Gareth | 6 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne |
| Footsteps (2006) | 11/20/2023 | 2006 | Evans, Gareth | 3 | Gareth Evans, Andrew Milne |
Andrew is a 2012 graduate of the University of Dundee, with an MA in English and Politics. He spent a lot of time at Uni watching decadently nerdy movies with his pals, and decided that would be his identity moving forward. He awards an extra point on The Goods ranking scale to any film featuring robots or martial arts. He also dabbles in writing fiction, which is assuredly lousy with robots and martial arts.
2 replies on “Gareth Evans Retrospective”
Godspeed, though of my data points for Evans’s career, he’s good at filming martial arts and awful at almost everything else. Admittedly, I’m basing this solely on Apostle. Though I guess I could also base it on the story part of The Raid 2. (I still find The Raid to be a genuinely investing story of a fraternal relationship, though, and Merantau is neutral, so he’s not 0/4 screenplay-wise.)
Thanks! I have some powerfully ambivalent feelings about Apostle! We’ll get there soon enough.
I like the story of The Raid 2, but it wouldn’t work *without* the action. On this, too, I have many, many thoughts forthcoming.