“Monkey Man” stars Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikandar Kher, Vipin Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, and Makarand Deshpande. Released on April 5, 2024, the film has a young man seeking revenge against the corrupt leaders responsible for his mother’s death. The film features the directorial debut of Dev Patel. Many stories depict a nobody's journey that sparks a rebellion against corruption, violence, and discrimination. They encourage us to stand up to those in power and treat each other equally. This trend continues with a new action-packed thrill ride whose backstory is just as exciting as its straightforward concept. The film, which has Dev Patel in the director’s chair for the first time, was initially set to be released on Netflix. However, that was quickly changed when comedian/horror maestro Jordan Peele saw the movie himself and declared, “This has to be in theaters. Screw streaming!” and the rest is history. That guy sure knows how to exceed our expectations of him, especially during the current state of streaming we’re seeing now. Now that it has punched its way into cinemas, let’s see if Peele made the right choice regarding its execution. The story centers on Kid (Patel), an anonymous young man in Mumbai. He experienced a traumatic childhood involving his village being destroyed by the country’s corruption and his mother Neela’s (Kalkunte) death at the hands of police chief Rana Singh (Kher). Since then, Kid has spent years traversing through the city to face his murderers. As his journey for vengeance progresses, Kid discovers that his venture sparks a revolution for his people, tormented by the country's corrupt leaders, including guru Baba Shakti (Deshpande). Despite the odds stacked against him, Kid must fight tooth and nail to exact his revenge and save his people. When I saw Patel and Peele’s names on the film’s marketing, I knew it would be on my list of this year’s highly-anticipated movies. Patel has been on my radar since his debut in 2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire”, with his role in “The Green Knight” being my favorite. As for Jordan Peele, if you’ve been following my reviews of his works, you’ll know exactly how I feel about him. His approach toward the horror genre has a healthy track record that’s impossible to ignore, and even his filmography as only a producer outside the genre has been pretty decent so far. With these two involved, along with its kick-ass marketing, this seemingly grim and ultra-violent movie had the opportunity to become another crowd-pleasing theatrical experience despite being another John Wick ripoff. The question is: was it a good crowd-pleasing experience? Well, it’ll depend on your expectations. When it comes to the story, “Monkey Man” has plenty of elements that we’ve seen before, mainly the protagonist seeking revenge on the murderers. In this case, Kid travels through a neo-noir city ruled by those claiming themselves as gods. Amid the journey, the film showcased brief flashbacks of his past that led him down this path of revenge, including his mother’s brutal murder by Rana and the legend of Hanuman. While it serves as a revenge thriller set in Mumbai, “Monkey Man” is also a grim and often discomforting portrayal of class exploitation through violence, corruption, and pessimism. The movie showcased its location as an absolute hellhole where the people’s obsession with power outweighs those below them. In short, it is one country you probably won’t spend your vacation in. Through Patel’s visual storytelling and direction, “Monkey Man” offered a gritty and immensely haunting depiction of the country that also isn’t without its brutalities. Patel also had an impressive passion for representing the Hindu culture and mythologies amid its sociopolitical commentary, evidently seen by its presentation. The movie is an old-fashioned yet entertaining revenge tale that has plenty to say about Indian society and the deception surrounding it. On the storytelling front, “Monkey Man” occasionally struggles to maintain this balance regarding its hit-and-miss execution. In the film's first act, Kid is portrayed in a more humanizing way rather than just being shown as a violent person. The screenplay handles the character well, so I didn't mind the slower pace with less action. This means that the movie is more equally focused on drama and action, which is different from what the marketing suggested. But once the first action scene hit, it immediately became a hard-hitting, brutal roller coaster that grabbed me tight until the end. While some of the narrative beats didn’t hit as hard as its punches on an emotional and thematic level, there’s plenty to enjoy from this violently fun and often bold take on the action thriller genre. Dev Patel has proven to be a solid filmmaker in terms of his vision and direction toward the action sequences. However, he has yet to match or outdo himself as an actor. Patel continues to be an electrifying force of nature in front of the camera, thanks to his stupefying portrayal of Kid. The emotional range Kid possessed, whether rage or trauma, was effectively empowered by Patel’s performance, which is enough to keep him in the Hollywood spotlight for a while. The rest of the cast, mainly consisting of Indian actors, also did decently well with their performances, including Pitobash and Dhulipala as Alphonso and Sita, respectively. Along with its representation, I would also credit Patel and the crew for sticking with an Indian supporting cast to increase its authenticity instead of getting someone else famous to fill those roles. There’s also Sharlto Copley, who plays the role of Tiger, and it definitely looked like he was having fun with his performance, which is expected considering his filmography. But what about the action sequences, you ask? Well, it’s easy to admit that those who like “John Wick” will likely have a blast with “Monkey Man” regarding its brutal violence. From my perspective, “Monkey Man” fulfills its expectations of an often stylish and immersive display of authentic action choreography that’ll make genre fans go bananas. While most of its action scenes were shown in the trailers, that didn’t stop me from admiring the effort in making the R-rated violence fun and savage. Unfortunately, the only thing that brought this aspect down for me was its use of the shaky cam. On some occasions, this filmmaking trick makes the audience feel engrossed in the world through Kid’s perspective. But most of the time, it makes some sequences difficult to see what’s happening regarding its panning effects and close-up shots. Thankfully, it’s not as overused as most generic action movies, even if it somewhat hindered my experience. Overall, “Monkey Man” is an effortful display of authentic action and representation that’s as bananas as the protagonist’s killing spree. Regarding its storytelling, the movie is admirable in providing a soul in its tried-and-true formula and realistically grim themes amid its violence. However, it didn’t reach the heights it was going for emotionally to make it stand out from other movies with similar plots, including “John Wick”. Regardless, it’s another entertaining thrill ride that pounds its chest with pride due to Patel’s irresistible performance, decent direction, and brutal action sequences. So, was Peele right in putting this film in theaters instead of streaming? Well, the obvious answer is yes because who doesn’t love seeing an action movie on the big screen? As for Patel, I could see him tackling his directorial duties again if the opportunity comes knocking at his door. Based on what I saw from him, I think he has enough good merits to make it big as a filmmaker. If you’re looking for another adult-rated slugfest that isn’t “John Wick”, this movie may be for you. B-
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