Dev Patel is somewhat of a household name with a wide range of film credits to his name. With Monkey Man, Patel dives into the role of director and lead in the film. As his directorial debut, he pulls out all the stops with producer Jordan Peele added to the list of names behind the story. So how does his first film as director turn out? Review after the trailer.
A young man ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he’s beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, he discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Review
Monkey Man has been compared by many to the John Wick films. Given the action-fight sequences and revenge plot lineup, I can understand the desire to do so, but I think that is unfair in quality of story comparison. If anything I would look at it as a badge of honor to be compared among films like that within the genre. From a story perspective, Monkey Man is a fresh, heartful take on the genre with a spiritual twist and a different perspective of life and means for our lead character.
MONKEY MAN, directed by Dev Patel © Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Patel’s character is driven by a childhood trauma that drives his focus to find the person responsible for what happened and take his revenge on them. Set in the fictional city of Yatana, the film draws heavily on Indian mythology and politics to drive the story narrative forward. Built into the character’s backstory is a mythology around a monkey deity named Hanuman and his journey of enlightenment and hardship which parallels his journey in the film.
You can tell that Patel felt a connection to the story and the narrative and that was reflected in the acting and the overall stakes in the film. There are a few scenes, especially the chase scene in the stairwell, which use first-person camera work that comes off a little too jarring and hard to follow at times. The middle of the film seemed to linger a tad long before diving head first into the action but overall the pacing for the start and finish of the film were strong. The fight scenes are well choreographed and bring in a nice flair and mystery as Patel wears the monkey mask and his comrades are also dressed for the occasion.
Dev Patel’s directorial debut will very likely earn him a top spot in this year’s award circuit for first-time directors and is at the top of my short list already. Monkey Man comes in with no baggage and leaves you with few questions, but also very satisfied.
©2024 universal studios a comcast company
