Monkey Man- SXSW 2024
March 12th, 2024
MOVIE: MONKEY MAN
STARRING: DEV PATEL, SHARLTO COPLEY, PITOBASH, SIKANDAR KHER
DIRECTED BY: DEV PATEL
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 ½ STARS (Out of 4)
Monkey Man created a massive buzz on a cool Monday night at SXSW. Once everyone was finally locked into their seats the buzz never left. The directorial debut of Dev Patel, his new action film has the energy of a thousand fists, where the trailer alone was enough to excite any viewer, thankfully it did not disappoint. Monkey Man may look like another action movie in the John Wick vein but it’s more than that. This is a pulse-pounding and emotional revenge story, created through the blood, sweat, and power of Dev Patel.
The lead character is just known as Kid (Patel), who we meet fighting in a back room knuckle boxing ring, under the pseudonym of Monkey Man, getting kicked, and his face smashed. It’s under the thumb of a scummy mobster (played by Sharlto Copely), who takes his time in paying his fighters, and for Kid, it’s just one of his jobs in India where his work is to appease the wealthy. We see flashbacks of young Kid, his mother telling him stories of gods stealing the sun from the sky, and cut in between horrific trauma of his mother being killed by a ruthless military leader (Sikandar Kher). This is the seed planted on Kid’s journey, where the narrative places us on the path to revenge, no matter how brutal, or painful it will be.
The screenplay is written by Paul Angunawela, John Collee, and Patel, which follows a standard revenge story of tearing the hero down to build him back up. Even though the production was mired by issues due to Covid and Patel suffering a broken hand, the setbacks are built into the spirit of the film. When Kid begins to set the plot in motion, getting himself into a brothel as a dishwasher, moving to a server, and eventually working within the space to attack, it’s that slow ramping where our hands begin to sweat. When we see the release Patel succeeds at blowing the lid off.
If there are any complaints to be had about Monkey Man it is when the story goes back down, but this is also what sets it apart from the continuous motion of John Wick or Mission: Impossible- Fallout. Those are not the movies Patel is making. The fight choreography is messy, bloody, and bone-crunching. The cinematography is a big highlight, shot by Sharone Meir, placing the audience’s faces into every move and strike. It’s not even a shaky cam type of view where you feel dizzy, but an anxiety-inducing connection, where the tension, and stress that kid feels is exactly what you will feel as well.
The final act of Monkey Man is where Patel wins. Referencing martial arts heroes such as Tony Jaa, the team that made The Raid, or Bruce Lee, is all constantly present, but he also honors the styles that have influenced his career, such as Danny Boyle’s energy in Slumdog Millionaire or bigger than life Bollywood films. Monkey Man is all of those things wrapped into one and succeeds off the back and sheer will of Dev Patel. Monkey Man is a smash hit.
MONKEY MAN WILL BE IN THEATERS FRIDAY APRIL 5TH, 2024.
3 ½ STARS
Written by: Leo Brady
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