From Jeff Nelson

Dev Patel makes his directorial debut with the ultra-violent Monkey Man, which draws its inspiration from South Korean action flicks, from Jee-woon Kim’s I Saw the Devil to Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy. Its proximity to the John Wick franchise will surely elicit comparisons, which the film itself even mentions by name. Monkey Man has a point of view to contribute to the universe of hyperviolent revenge thrillers, but it falls short in its execution.

A mysterious man (Patel, credited as Kid, although he takes on the fake name “Bobby”) devises a plan to unleash a whirlwind of vengeance against corrupt Indian leaders. Their abuse of power led to the death and suffering of many powerless people, including his mother. However, Bobby will have to rely on more than merely his fighting prowess if he hopes to reach the individuals directly responsible for his trauma and loss.

Monkey Man relates more than just its title to the Hindu deity named Hanuman, a divine monkey revered by humanity for his strength, courage, and devotion. Bobby recalls his mother telling him the story as a child, which pulls us into the present day, where he fights for money donning a monkey mask. There’s a spiritual nature to the narrative, where their journeys frequently mirror one another. Patel weaves the influence of Hindu gods into society’s underbelly, where the Indian rupee reigns above all else.

Baba Shakti (Makrand Deshpande) runs on a dangerous political platform, with corrupt Police Chief Rana (Sikandar Kher) acting as his hand. Monkey Man provides hints of social commentary, although it’s primarily just a backdrop for the carnage. The campaign’s impact on the hijra population is what sets the film apart. They’re portrayed as heroes who can fight back in the face of evil, and I wanted a whole movie of that. It’s substantially more fascinating than Bobby’s story, although this sub-plot is primarily leveraged as a plot beat for the protagonist.

The bone-breaking action comes to a head in a third act that goes hard with its scrappy fight choreography designed for big, crowd-pleasing reactions. It’s plenty violent and outrageous, matching the energy with frantic handheld camerawork. Patel uses brutality as an exclamation point at the end of his political and social statements, rather than maintaining the high adrenaline throughout the runtime.

Monkey Man is an erratic action thriller with spikes of satisfying carnage, but it’s weighed down by a thinly drawn political and spiritual core that craves to be more meaningful than it is. The character building is too monotonous to grow emotionally attached to, never fully navigating its own world beyond a surface-level approach. Patel is a talented actor with real promise behind the camera. However, Monkey Man is hollow and a couple of compelling action sequences aren’t enough to save a film that wants to be more than its fights.

Rating: 2.5/5

Monkey Man hits theaters on April 5th, 2024.

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