Monkey Man Movie Review - Dev Patel Isn’t Monkeying Around
Hollywood opened the doors to British actor, Dev Patel after his theatrical acting debut of 2008’s award-winning “Slumdog Millionaire”. Over the years of his career, he’s been nominated for several awards for his performances in “The Green Knight”, “The Personal History of David Copperfield”, and an Oscar nomination for his role in 2016’s “Lion”—including a Golden Raspberry award for his portrayal of Prince Zuko in “The Last Airbender”. However, I will not hold that against him because it’s not his fault that his acting (like the movie) was simply repugnant.
From what we know about his resume, Patel’s launched himself from being a young talent to becoming a very respected, gifted actor. This time with 2024’s action tale Monkey Man, Patel has taken a bold step forward—like a bunch of actors in Hollywood from Ben Affleck, Olivia Wilde and George Clooney—to write and direct his very first feature film. Normally when an actor debuts as a director, their first attempt would either be a comedy, a biographical adaptation or a dramatic thriller. It is rare to see any filmmaker take their first shot at the action genre, and with Monkey Man, Patel’s debut delivers a knockout blow. If you think the trailer was invigorating, the final product just about meets those expectations.
In the grimy, politically-corrupt landscape of fictional India, Patel’s character, Kid, makes his grueling living in an underground fight club where he is beaten to a bloody pulp by some of the most fearsome opponents in almost every match. Once he receives information from a young accomplice of the corrupt elite’s enclave — a hotel helmed by a vicious spiritual leader, Baba Shakti, he infiltrates his way inside where he plots his vengeance on those responsible for the death of his mother.
From behind the camera to in front of the camera, Dev Patel is the star of this movie. Drawing inspirations from several revenge narratives like “Oldboy” and “John Wick”, Patel’s storytelling transforms an overused action concept of fighting through waves of enemies to come face to face with the villain pulling the strings, into something much more personal while also not being afraid to tackle social commentary from its criticisms of India’s caste system, how political opponents use religion for their own personal gain and the nation’s treatment of women and transsexuals.
Nothing about Patel’s filmmaking doesn’t feel fervid. His passion is also present in his direction of the actors giving great performances, and most especially, the action scenes. The realistic action choreography is bone-crunching, savage and satisfying in nearly every aspect and the finest example of such is the terrific final act where things go absolutely insane. He also doesn’t shy away from subverting action cliches such as smashing through windows from a building to escape or an intense struggle in a knife fight where one tries to stab the other in ways that feel hilarious and refreshing.
Any criticisms that I have towards Monkey Man is mainly due to technical and filmmaking decisions that don’t feel particularly necessary. A starting point would have to be the use of handheld, shaky cam in his action sequences. The use of shaky cam can work when it is applied to establish the intensity of a situation. It’s commonly used for chase sequences or bloody fisticuffs, and as for “Monkey Man”, especially when said sequences are shot in close-ups, it becomes disorienting for a while until the film final decides to steady the camera for the fights in the third act. Finally, my last drawback would be the film’s repetitive flashbacks from the traumatic events from his childhood. Flashbacks aren’t necessarily a bad thing, but when injected repeatedly to emphasize just the kind of damage he went through and the vengeance he feels for the man who murdered his mother, it drags the pacing significantly.
Overall, this was a pretty darn good debut from an actor like Patel. If Patel ever considers making another action flick like Monkey Man, then he shouldn’t hesitate. It’s a great starting point for him, so hopefully if he ever gets the chance, we shall see where he goes from here.
Rating: 4/5
