Monkey Man

Revenge movies being incredible or forgettable boils down to two factors. The quality of the action choreography and original fight scenes, and the ratio of backstory/reason for revenge to actually getting revenge. What made John Wick the pinnacle of revenge movies is how they masterfully build a world during action sequences, spending only the first 1% of the movie establishing his reason for revenge and then taking you for a thrill ride of artfully choreographed violence. Monkey Man sadly is not the Indian John Wick because where John wick does more with very little, Monkey Man conversely takes the opposite approach essentially dividing the film into two acts. The first half of the movie, roughly accounting for 65% of the duration of the 2 hour film consists of backstory, reason for revenge, and without spoiling anything, setbacks.

A successful revenge movie understands that pacing is the sharpest blade. There may be setbacks. But they don't set back the pace as the movie always inches forward towards revenge.

While it is true that it is possible to enhance the satisfaction of revenge by focusing more on the reason for that revenge, this is extremely difficult to do and in almost all cases ends up causing the movie to drag. This was very much the case with Monkey Man, or as my title refers to it - Monkey Marathon.

Monkey Man has elements of what it needs to be to achieve a John Wick level of action film, but it goes in the completely wrong direction. Long form story telling. Drags. The whole first act drags and doesn't need to.

78%

A really enjoyable and at times moving actioner, with a good heart and enough social commentary to elevate it above the ordinary.

First time director (and kudos to him, this is a brilliant debut film) and star Dev Patel shows here that he is a director to watch and a bonified movies star. The boy has chops. Here he plays Monkey Man, an underground street fighter just striving to make a living in the slums of India but with a burning desire for vengeance. As the film progresses we are slowly introduced to both the target(s) of his vengeance and the reasons he is crippled by it.

You've seen this all before in a hundred films of its type but this has enough style and substance to it to stand out from the rest. The fights scenes (especially as the film progresses and our protagonist improves) are dynamic and kinetic, the camera never stops moving. But there are enough quiet, still, thoughtful moments here to raise this film above the usual chaff. The flashback scenes are filled with warmth and beauty and show a real eye as a director. The film uses music exceptionally well to add both gravitas and levity to scenes where needed.

With influences from western cinema, Indian cinema and especially 90s East Asian action flicks this film has enough pace and action for the fight movie fans but also enough of a story and heart for the general movie goer. You'll be rooting for our eponymous Monkey Man to get his vengeance. As I said a really excellent directorial debut from an already established young, proper movie star. The future really looks bright for Mr Patel.

Huge Dev Patel fan. Monkey Man is the first movie I've gone to see in the theaters in a very long time. I just don't get interested enough to not wait for it to be streaming.

Monkey Man compelled me to go. It's probably the best movie trailer I've ever seen, or at least one of the best.

The problem with the trailer that I foresee is many are going to walk out of the theater feeling misled.

If you're an action movie fan, DO NOT GO SEE THIS IN THEATERS. Wait for streaming. This is a drama with elements of action and crime thriller. Anyone going in who thinks this is like John Wick will be sorely disappointed. The problem is, that's the impression the trailer gives.

I'm actually not even a John Wick fan. I like action movies, but I don't seek them out often. What I thought could make Monkey Man special was the added substance of Indian mythology, culture, and a more fleshed out character drama that was hinted at in the trailer.

Some of that was present, but it didn't come together nearly as well as I had hoped. I don't agree with the severe criticism of the action scenes and how they were filmed. I thought they were good and the shaky cam didn't bother me. Could it have been better? Probably. But I think the criticism there is overblown.

Where the film missed its mark for me was the story itself. The first act was good, but in the second act it ground to a halt for 40 minutes or so of more of what we already learned in act 1, at the expense of pacing. Some parts were fleshed out way too much while other parts weren't fleshed out enough, making it feel off almost the whole movie. The supporting characters didn't get enough of this, which didn't help us care about them and also care about them joining the fight with our protagonist.

I'm genuinely surprised at some of Dev's choices in Act 2. I actually admire him for trying to make a movie with more substance that could be called action to some degree, but I just think he didn't nail the blend of these things with Monkey Man. You could argue that he tried to do too much. There was a significant amount of extended flashback used throughout even up to the very end. This ended up taking us out of the present and hurting the flow of the story.

I think Monkey Man as Dev Patel envisioned it might have been much better as a limited series. So that he could take his time and flesh everything out the way he wanted. Because again, there were some great elements in this movie. Good acting, good cinematography, good music (although it sounds as if it was more stereotypical Indian music and other cultural elements used), some great fight scene moments, and some fun bits. It just doesn't add up to a great movie.

Someone else mentioned they felt detached a bit, and I agree. Despite the protagonist's story having the right emotional elements to draw us in, it didn't do it as much I had hoped for me.

What I envision is a lot of people going into this expecting a pure action thrill ride, and they're going to be bored. Again, this is a drama, and one that I wanted to like more than I did.

This doesn't sour me on Dev at all. He may have just bit off more than he could chew with this one, but he had the balls to go for it, and I respect that.

Monkey Man is a watchable action flick that lacks depth in its storytelling. Set in India, the narrative revolves around religious beliefs and addresses issues surrounding godmen and their false prophecies. While the action sequences are brilliantly choreographed and a treat for action movie lovers, the story fails to delve deeply into the themes it touches on.

As a result, I couldn't emotionally connect with the main character, played by Dev Patel. The plot ultimately feels like a typical revenge tale. Although the filmmakers seem to draw inspiration from John Wick, they fall short of fully replicating its impact.

That said, I appreciate how the movie highlights significant issues, such as the exploitation of religious beliefs by godmen, the politics around them, the land encroachment affecting the poor, and other social concerns. The visuals are stunning, and Dev Patel delivers a commendable performance, though there's little scope for other actors to shine.

On the bright side, the movie is engaging from start to finish without any lags. Overall, it's a decent one-time watch for action enthusiasts.

If you had told me a year ago that Dev Patel would play India's answer to John Wick, I would have thought you were crazy, but here we are with Monkey Man, in which the actor directs himself as a man determined to take revenge on the people who murdered his mother and stole their land.

The film features plenty of brutal fight action - a mix of gun play and hand to hand combat - but Patel succumbs to that irritating trend - shaky cam with rapid editing; I'm sure this technique hides a multitude of sins, but it always feels a bit like a cop out to me and makes it rather difficult to follow the action. Monkey Man also suffers from erratic pacing, with lulls in the action that go on for a tad too long. If Patel had had the confidence to shoot his fight scenes in a less chaotic manner and had kept the pace more consistent, I think the film would have been better for it.

That said, I didn't dislike the movie as a whole - Patel does well in his role as avenging angel and the level of violence is impressive. I definitely had far more fun with Monkey Man than either of the other two big screen releases I have seen recently: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Godzilla x Kong, both of which were hugely disappointing.