Movie Review: ‘Monkey Man’

Directed and starring Dev Patel, the action-thriller Monkey Man debuted with a $12 million worldwide box office opening this weekend.

Read our review of the film below.

‘Monkey Man’ Review

Throughout 2023, the action movie genre accounted for 34 percent of box office revenue in the U.S. and Canada, with Adventure ranking second at 20.3 percent and Comedy at 12.5 percent.

So, basically, action movies are running things. Now, you probably think the formula for a good action movie is easy: an appealing hero, a dastardly villain, epic fight scenes, and a plot good enough to hook the audience for the film’s duration.

Ok, I’ll give you that. After all, you just want to see bullets fly, bones break, grand explosions, and the good guy win.

But when the action dies down, then what? Something better sustain you or else you’ll be tempted to reach for your phone for entertainment, which could escalate into a real fight scene, and you might not be able to win that adventure.

In the new action movie “Monkey Man,” Dev Patel hopes to keep you captivated with his frenetic formula of fantastic fighting.

Does this film soar to heights, or should it be caged and kept in a zoo? Let’s go!

Brass Monkey! That funky monkey! “Monkey Man” is directed by, written by, co-produced by Dev Patel and stars him along with Sikandar Kher, Makarand Deshpande, Vipin Sharma, and Sobhita Dhulipala.

Set in India, Patel plays Kid, a young man who plots his revenge on those responsible for his mother’s death.

Revenge. It’s always revenge, right? Let me tell you something, revenge will have a person do crazy, irrational, impulsive things.

Kid finds this out the hard way. Remember as a kid (no pun intended) when you did something stupid after your parents warned you not to do it, and afterwards they said, “See, that’s what your a$$ get”?

Yeah, well, this is a prominent storyline. However, it isn’t the total storyline.

What Patel does is weave elements of action scenes from other successful movies of the genre while using revenge as his prime motivation, but he also incorporates India’s political climate and caste system to keep his directorial debut authentic.

There are a couple of scenes where you may go, “Hey, I’ve seen that in (insert film here) but they aren’t blatant rip-offs. Another key bullet point about “Monkey Man”; guns and fights are secondary.

The main event is the actual story.

The 1st and 2nd acts are relatively slow.

I said slow, not boring. Once characters are established, Patel’s character, Kid, methodically plans his revenge.

It’s the build-up that keeps you interested. We are also reminded why he desperately wants to accomplish his goal by flashbacks throughout the film.

They slowly begin to fill in gaps and answer questions.

An aimless youngster consumed by rage tries to find purpose the wrong way, and ironically, it is one of the so-called dregs of India’s society who ends up coaching him to channel that angst in fulfilling his mission.

The cinematography highlights India’s slums and those surviving day-to-day.

Witnessing poverty and corruption from another country on-screen gives you a notion of how evil travels abroad, if only for a moment or two.

When the action picks back up, it is gory, bloody, and straight up unapologetic!

Funeral homes are going to make some money with all these body counts!

The camera angles convey the level of anxiety, but sometimes that “shaky cam” technique is too much.

It gets on your nerves after a while.

Also, the flashbacks can be a bit much. It affects your concentration.

Listen, this is not an “Indian John Wick” film as I’ve seen some refer to it as.

Action isn’t that abundant but this film’s revenge and redemption trope is undeniable.

I’m co-signing “Monkey Man” to the fullest.

Yeah, this movie definitely goes ape sh*t!

Watch The Trailer

Do you plan to see “Monkey Man?”

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