MONKEY MAN movie poster | ©2024 Universal Pictures

Rating: R
Stars: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikander Kher, Adithi Kalkunte, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Mararand Deshpande, Jatin Malik, Zakir Hussain
Writers: Dev Patel and Paul Angunawela and John Collee, story by Dev Patel
Director: Dev Patel
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release Date: April 5, 2024

As revenge action movies go, Dev Patel’s excellent directorial debut MONKEY MAN is right up there. Whirling and spinning, in almost continuous motion through its first and third acts, MONKEY MAN makes the stakes so high and the cause so righteous that the hero earns applause for acts that might otherwise turn this into a slasher.

Scripted by Patel and Paul Angunawela and John Collee from Patel’s story, MONKEY MAN takes its title both from the Hindu monkey god Hanuman and from its protagonist’s underground fighter persona.

Patel stars as the main character, called “Monkey Man” or “Kong” by some of his associates, although he is named simply “Kid” in the credits. The “Monkey Man” moniker is because Kid wears an over-the-head monkey mask for his job as the designated loser in brutal no-holds-barred ring fights emceed by the mercenary Tiger (Sharlto Copley).

When Kid sets up an elaborate purse-snatching scheme to gain an audience with high-end madam/crime boss Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar), it at first seems that he’s just looking to get less awful employment. But as we see flashbacks of Kid as a little boy (Jatin Malik) learning about Hanuman from his adored mother (Adithi Kalkunte) in their beautiful forest village, we realize that he has suffered a great wrong and intends to make those responsible pay for their crimes.

The overall arc is one we’ve seen before, but MONKEY MAN throws in so many novel elements, including fight moves, weapons, and a community that hasn’t yet been featured in many Western-made action genre films, that is has a genuine sense of inventiveness. Even the quasi-mandatory training sequences feel fresh, thanks to Zakir Hussain’s onscreen percussion talents.

This is before even addressing the film’s setting, the fictional Indian state of Yatana (MONKEY MAN was in fact filmed in Indonesia), with – save Copley – an all-Southeast Asian cast. As a director, Patel immerses us in this place and its extremes of poverty and enormous wealth (we don’t see much of the middle class). The shots are dazzling, whether we’re looking at a fight, a penthouse party, or even the tangled bodies of too many men crammed together in their sleeping area. The natural world, with its towering trees and lush greenery, is paradise both because of its open air and because it is quiet enough for laughter and thought.

Patel directs himself for maximum sympathetic impact, registering confusion, grief, kindness and incandescent rage. Other standouts in the cast include Pitobash as Kid’s new friend, Vipin Sharma as an ally, and Makarand Deshpande as a shady religious figure.

MONKEY MAN also has plenty to say about fascist political movements, specific abuses of power, and targeting of minorities. This is all woven into the plot rather than put in speeches, so we don’t feel a lag in the pacing to make a point. There is a definite second-act slowdown, but the drama is still interesting, and at this juncture, both the Kid and the audience can use a breather.

Mostly, though, MONKEY MAN is rapid-fire fists and feet and firearms (and a few other, less likely things) presented with skill, assurance, color, ferocity, humor and glorious energy.

In English and Hindi.

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