Skylar Savarin

“Monkey Man” is an action film from Oscar-nominated actor Dev Patel (“Lion”) in his feature film debut. The story follows a young man (credited as Kid) as he sets off on a crusade of vengeance against the corrupt leaders of India who killed his mother and continue to victimize the poor. The film stars Patel in the lead role, as well as Sharlto Copley (“District 9”), Pitobash (“3 Idiots”), Vipin Sharma (“Gangs of Wasseypur”), Sikander Kher (“Woodstock Villa”), Sobhita Dhulipala (“Raman Raghav 2.0”) and renowned musician Zakir Hussain.
This has been one of my most anticipated films for years now, and while it isn’t as effective as its genre influences, “Monkey Man” is a great movie with solid directing, brutal action sequences and surprising social commentary.
One fascinating element about “Monkey Man” is its difficult journey to the big screen, mainly thanks to COVID. If those issues weren’t enough, Patel broke his hand while filming the first action scene. It was already difficult for him to get medical treatment due to COVID protocols, but if he were to get a cast, the post-production crew would have then needed to digitally remove the cast from his hand in every single scene of the film, a nearly impossible feat to complete with a mere $10 million budget. So instead, Patel opted to just have a metal screw inserted in his hands and then continued to film.
And those were just the production issues. Although Netflix bought the distribution rights for “Monkey Man” in March of 2021, they got cold feet, believing that the film’s gritty subject matter and social commentary would be a tough sell for Indian audiences (in Netflix’s defense, they do have a point, but I’ll discuss that later). Thankfully, “Monkey Man” found its savior in Jordan Peele, who, after watching the film, felt that the film deserved a theatrical release and convinced Universal Pictures to buy the distribution rights from Netflix.
Thankfully, none of these hardships ended up affecting the final product, as “Monkey Man” is an entertaining action movie, largely thanks to Patel’s direction. While many other genre films take inspiration from the “John Wick” series, “Monkey Man” sets itself apart by borrowing more from Korean cinema; Patel has specifically listed “Oldboy” and “I Saw the Devil” as inspirations in terms of style and tone. The cinematography makes sure to capture all the vivid lighting in every set piece as well as every single movement and drop of blood in the film’s fight scenes. The overall brutality and camerawork reminded me of Indonesian action movies like Gareth Evans’ “The Raid” duology and Timo Tjahjanto’s “The Night Comes for Us.” There’s a mix of smooth and shaky camera movements that makes “Monkey Man” feel frantic and methodical at the same time. I do wish that there was more action throughout, as most of the fights are limited to the first and final acts of the film, but Patel’s stylish direction makes them all feel brutal.
I also have a lot of respect for the themes that “Monkey Man” confronts, specifically in terms of political corruption in India, as well as the increased division between people based on religion, class and gender. While the script never mentions him by name, it is very clear that the political commentary is explicitly directed towards Narendra Modi, the right-wing, Hindu nationalist prime minister. “Monkey Man” explicitly points out the amount of violence committed against Muslims and transgender people, blaming the film’s fictional prime minister for dividing the country. Again, Patel doesn’t even try to push his luck by naming Modi, but the parallels are definitely there for anybody looking.
Lastly, Patel’s dedication to the lead role, and the film itself, gives “Monkey Man” the overall sense of sincerity required for the narrative and themes to work. Kid is portrayed with subtle, barely contained rage throughout the film’s runtime, and his brutality in the fight sequences add to this. As a fan of Patel’s performance work, it’s nice to see him play a very different character than anything he’s ever done.
I have my issues with “Monkey Man,” primarily regarding its occasionally bland score and slow second act, but overall, Dev Patel’s directorial debut is a brutal and effective action film. If you’re a fan of “John Wick” and “The Raid,” then I can’t recommend it enough.
RATING: 7/10