Monkey Man is a 2024 revenge thriller film directed by Oscar-winner Dev Patel in his directorial debut, from a story by Patel, and a screenplay he co-wrote with Paul Angunawela and John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World). The film was originally set to debut on Netflix, but has since been given a theatrical release as part of Jordan Peele’s production company Monkeypaw’s film deal with Universal.
Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage Monkey Man stars Dev Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.
After years of suppressed rage, Kid 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.
The cast includes Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley (District 9), Sobhita Dhulipala (Made in Heaven), Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai), Ashwini Kalsekar (Ek Tha Hero), Adithi Kalkunte (Hotel Mumbai), Sikandar Kher (Aarya), and Makarand Deshpande (RRR).
Monkey Man made its debut in theaters on April 5th, courtesy of Universal Pictures.
THE GOOD
I went in to the theater expecting a revenge thriller with a John Wick feel to it, but let me just tell you right now Monkey Man is so much more than that. I am borderline obsessed with the revenge thriller genre as I have said many times, so naturally I gravitate to these films. Now I may have a hard time really explaining the why of it all, but everything about this movie just felt like it was on another level. Some of the obvious comparisons to the John Wick films, which are amazing by the way, is the incredible technical elements with the wild fight sequences, the camera work, cinematography, soundtrack/score, etc. It goes on and on but basically what I am trying to say is this film dots every I and crosses every T.
I assumed that the biggest comparable element to the John Wick films would be the actual screenplay and overall premise, but to my surprise that is really where Monkey Man sets itself apart. The reason why John Wick murdered everyone who got in his way was pretty straightforward; his wife died of cancer and her dying gift was the cutest puppy you’ve ever seen, and some idiot decided it was a good idea to murder said puppy. Needless to say, that did not end well for him or anyone else who decided to get in the way after the fact. In Monkey Man, the character known only as “Kid” had a front row seat to the brutal murder of his mother and lived the rest of his life haunted by this memory.
He felt that because of all the emotional pain he had endured throughout his life, he had to match it with physical pain which he experienced sacrificing his body in a back alley no-hold-barred ring. As the story unravels it becomes clear that Kid is hell bent on avenging the death of his mother in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, and to say that it was gloriously satisfying to watch him embark on this harrowing journey into the vibrant underworld of India would be an understatement. I won’t spoil anything as per usual but this is something you absolutely need to see for yourself. So big time kudos to the original story from Patel, and the screenplay he co-wrote with Paul Angunawela and John Collee.
Now as far as the cast is concerned, holy shit is Dev Patel amazing in this. He has quietly become one of my favorite actors over the years as he delivered top-tier performances in films like the underrated gem Chappie (2015), Lion (2016), and arguably his best role to date in the 2021 fantastic A24 drama film The Green Knight. I was already convinced of his abilities as an actor well before seeing Monkey Man, but this performance was just different. Patel gives everything he has to this role, and I was honestly in awe of him from start to finish. Sharlto Copley is my guy and has been since the 2009 sci-fi drama District 9, and even though he plays a pretty small role here he was still great as always.
I really liked Indian actor Pitobash as Alphonso, as he perfectly portrays someone who first comes off as very unlikable but you quickly begin to relate to him and I thought his chemistry with Patel was genuine and very important to the film. I’m not sure what to say about actress Adithi Kalkunte aside from the fact that she is incredibly gorgeous and one of the few women I would even consider replacing my childhood poster of Cindy Crawford with, and that is saying a lot. I thought Sikandar Kher was really good as the films primary antagonist, because believe me when I say you will despise him with every fiber of your being right from his initial introduction. Vipin Sharma did a really nice job serving as sort of a mentor figure to help Kid reach his full potential.
From a technical standpoint I was seriously blown away by Monkey Man from the opening sequence right until the end credits. This film has such a unique and just visceral feel to it, and to be honest I am having a hard time describing what I was feeling while watching it. I was blown away by the amazing visuals but was also enthralled by this powerful story. In many ways I felt like the film compared to Ryan Coogler’s vision for the first Creed film, which I thought had more of a personal feel to the shooting style so that viewers felt like they were a part of the action. Both films actually have really powerful opening sequences with the camera following the main characters from behind. I mean even just the point where the title is displayed on-screen, even that somehow felt so intense and immersive. I felt like I was in the crowd during every fight.
The way Patel’s character carried himself, it all just had such a “real” feel to it. The way the camera worked in unison with the incredible cinematography and the amazing score/soundtrack, I just didn’t want this movie to end and I can’t wait to see it again. All I kept thinking to myself was holy shit is this awesome, this really is what its all about when it comes to the theater experience.
The fact that this is Patel’s feature-film debut as a director is absolutely insane to me, and either the stars somehow aligned perfectly for Monkey Man, or we are witnessing the birth of one of the next great creative minds in the business. After reading a few articles that talked about how difficult is was to get this movie made including nearly losing his financing when COVID hit, I am going to say it is the latter. I’m not at all surprised that he took home the Audience Award at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival. Now speaking of the soundtrack, Monkey Man includes some ridiculously amazing music and I need to own the official soundtrack like yesterday. I would even buy it on CD if that is still even a thing.
THE BAD
Monkey Man was everything I could have possibly wanted it to be and the some, I genuinely am having a hard time finding anything wrong with it. Now it is incredibly graphic and violent and certainly earns the R-rating, but it never felt unnecessary to me. It is super fast paced and some of the action sequences are pretty crazy which I guess could be overwhelming for some people, but I loved every second. I felt like the film was inspired by some other Bollywood films like the instant classic award-winning film RRR (our full review here), so if that genre in general rubs you the wrong way that could be an issue here. I feel like I am still complementing the film so let me go ahead and say that this is upper-echelon for the revenge thriller genre, simple as that.
THE VERDICT
An absolute triumph of a revenge thriller that solidifies Oscar-nominated actor Dev Patel as a legitimate dual-threat, Monkey Man blew me away from the opening sequence with incredible visuals and nonstop edge-of-your seat action. I simply cannot recommend this movie enough, and even though it does share similarities with the John Wick franchise, the uniqueness of the feel and the setting is what most viewers will appreciate most. Monkey Man is a truly powerful film that demands repeat viewings, and I can’t wait to add it to my collection of 4K Blu-rays. Do yourself a favor and see this on the big-screen as soon as humanely possible.
TED TAKES RATING - 9.3/10
Monkey Man is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.