Starring, directed by, and co-written by the very likeable actor Dev Patel and produced by Jordan Peele, MONKEY MAN (2024) rolls like a frenetic Indian JOHN WICK, though it reaches for big themes like standing up for the little guy against the right and powerful, themes that are universal. This movie is a load of fun.
The movie begins with Kid (Patel) wearing a monkey mask and getting the crap kicked out of him in a street boxing arena. He is working hard for cash to pay for information about an exclusive establishment catering to the wealthy, which he hopes to infiltrate by getting a job. His target: the police chief who slaughtered his village and murdered his mother on behalf of a shady guru.
And that’s it: The movie shows us his rise to the top, so to speak, killing anyone who stands in his way to revenge, only he will have to master his rage to achieve final victory.
It’s a simple story well told, made all the more interesting due to Patel’s usual excellent onscreen performance and presence, big themes such as how the rich and powerful use politics and religion to oppress everyone else, how everyone hustles among the poor to get by, stories about the Hindu deity Hanuman (who has the head of a monkey), and the exotic setting of urban India. These elements elevate what is a basic action story, though even that too is extremely well told with plenty of blood, action (including some crazy parkour stuff like you see in those one-shot POV YouTube videos), and action.
Overall, MONKEY MAN is a lot of fun, over the top and violent and landing its punch.
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