Monkey Man (2024)

Monkey-Man-(2024)
Monkey Man (2024)

Monkey Man

Dev Patel puts all of himself into “Monkey Man.” Some spills over the edges and the blend may not always be right but there is an undeniable passion here that comes through in a genre that too often feels like it came off an assembly line. The Bruce Lee, Sammo Hung, “The Raid,” Korean action, Bollywood influenced writer, producer, star, director and guy who broke a few bones filming this one name checked a whole lot more than that in his intro, and “Monkey Man” often has the overstuffed quality of a filmmaker who may never get another chance to put his visions on screen. With an insanely troubled production that started pre-Covid Patel credited producer Jordan Peele with “saving” the film there’s something miraculous about the existence of “Monkey Man,” and that unabashed passion can be contagious. When “Monkey Man” is humming, it earns those references in Patel’s intro. When it falters, those missteps can be forgiven as byproducts of the filmmaker’s unbridled desire to stand out from the other action movie primates.

“Inspired by Hanuman,” Dev Patel stars as an unnamed fighter named ‘Kid’ in the credits, in ring he wears gorilla mask and fights for money from sleazy promoter played by Sharlto Copley beaten most nights of week, extra cash if he bleeds. Scarred hands and silent countenance make Kid look like he’d lose against strongest person in any given room but those incredibly expressive eyes tell us otherwise early on: This young man has a goal. Nothing will stop him.

Through act of thievery kid gets job working at exclusive club that attracts city’s most important power players including political leaders and chief of police (Sikandar Kher) who destroyed his life. Faces start to recur among supporting cast such as beautiful club worker (Sobhita Dhulipala) and reluctant ally of sorts who gets caught up in the plan (Pitobash), but this is Patel’s movie his character, present or flashback, is in nearly every scene as we chart his ascendance from ordinary guy to killing machine.

On that last note, those coming to “Monkey Man” looking for non-stop action may be a little surprised by its structure. It’s basically a lengthy set-up followed by a lengthy action sequence, repeat. Other than fight scenes and lots of training, there are really only two action sequences in “Monkey Man,” but they’re worth the build-up. Patel has taken action templates from around the world and infused them with an insane brutality not often seen in films with a Hollywood studio logo. “Monkey Man” is bloody and intense. Bones break, blood spurts and you feel the connection in ways you don’t oftentimes in action lately even good stuff has gone more highly choreographed like “John Wick” or “Mission: Impossible.” The choreography here is still phenomenal but there’s a sweaty, improvised quality to it that adds to its kinetic thrust, impossible to look away or know what’s coming next. And credit to editors David Jancso & Tim Murrell and cinematographer Sharone Meir, who keeps his camera loose and fluid almost like another fighter in the room.

The film has flawless action but falls short in other areas. There are, no doubt, political subtexts that more knowledgeable people will be able to write about and I couldn’t even pretend to understand, but you don’t need an understanding of India’s history or current problems to figure out that Patel the writer may have bitten off more than he could chew. Religion, equal rights, mythology, politics it’s all here in this story and it can seem clumsy sometimes even if you’re not familiar with the particulars. And too often does Patel return to those flashbacks as emotional ballasts when he thinks the audience might be drifting during the action scenes. It’s funny because it feels almost like Patel the Director doesn’t trust Patel the Actor enough he puts so many flashbacks in there to justify his mission. We can see it in his body language, we can read so much from his eyes alone. The fearless drive is there as well as memory’s pain and a dedication for retribution.

While fighting sequences are a gem thanks to editing team of Mr. Patel, some parts of non action feel needlessly hurried too again trying to compensate by keeping audience awake while someone isn’t getting mutilated somewhere. He doesn’t have to do that though because he is clearly talented on both sides of camera. “Monkey Man,” I think will be big , very big indeed. Once he knows that second, third, and fourth movies are possible; this overstuffed storytelling & visual language may become legendary in hands like his. This might be an origin story for future franchise character but for me it feels like an origin story for future star & director of action movies.

For More Movies Visit Putlocker.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top