Current:Home > Markets'Monkey Man' review: Underestimate Dev Patel at your own peril after this action movie -Nova Finance Academy
'Monkey Man' review: Underestimate Dev Patel at your own peril after this action movie
View
Date:2025-04-15 01:00:58
In his directorial debut “Monkey Man,” Dev Patel gifts action-movie fans with a multilayered, hyperviolent narrative. Sure, he pulls off a deep dive into Indian mythology, yet he's pretty darn good at attacking goons with fireworks, platform shoes and all manner of sharp objects too.
More “Rocky” than “John Wick,” the gritty and gory revenge thriller (★★★ out of four; rated R; in theaters Friday) is a love letter to his two-fisted influences, from Bruce Lee movies to Asian cult flicks like “Oldboy” and “The Raid.” But the underdog story, produced by Jordan Peele, also shows a bunch of new sides to Patel, who knuckles up as a legit action star and a guy who can make a movie that’s totally cool, occasionally amusing and impressively thoughtful.
'Monkey Man':Dev Patel got physical for his new movie, and he has the broken bones to prove it
Patel also co-wrote the screenplay, a modern take on the mythos of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman. Kid (Patel) competes in an underground Indian fight club, though his job is mainly to take a bloody beating while wearing a monkey mask and hope his colorful boss Tiger (Sharlto Copley) doesn’t stiff him on pay.
At the same time, our hero is also haunted by the murder of his mom and a traumatic childhood, which fuels Kid’s mission of vengeance to take down those responsible. He gets a chance to infiltrate a repressive political system by working in a high-end brothel and starts causing problems for power players including a narcissistic, no-good celebrity guru (Makarand Deshpande) and a corrupt police chief (Sikander Kher).
With the holiday of Diwali on the way, as well as an important election, they don’t need someone like Kid messing things up. He becomes a wanted man and ends up left for dead in the street, where he’s found by a tribe of trans women who like Kid have been marginalized. Their leader Alpha (Vipin Sharma) nurses him back to health yet also imparts a key lesson: Instead of enduring pain and suffering as his primary existence, Kid needs a purpose in life.
While the piecemeal rollout of Kid’s backstory and bits of the Hanuman tale muddy the plot at first, “Monkey Man” swings into a groove when the main character is at his lowest point. Kid gets himself (and the movie) into gear in a lively montage where he uses a bag of wheat for punching practice as Alpha offers up a nifty percussion accompaniment. (It’s the next best thing to Survivor songs psyching up Rocky Balboa back in the day.)
Thusly inspired and trained, Kid goes on a righteous rampage and literally fights his way to the top floor of the villainous big boss. Patel can craft a mean action sequence, whether between ring ropes as masked men duke it out for crowds, a speedy car chase involving a tuk-tuk named after Nicki Minaj, or Kid kicking, stabbing and brawling his way through hordes of bad guys. As the guy at the center of these battles, the Oscar-nominated Patel ("Lion") never seems or looks out of place, even borrowing Keanu Reeves’ fashionable panache when it comes to gnarly combat couture.
The fact that “Monkey Man” includes social-cultural context, as something meaty to chew on rather than a throwaway thematic thread, is the cherry on top of Patel’s bloody sundae. He’s managed to craft a rare action movie that makes you think and also will joyfully plunge a metal rod into a dude’s brain.
veryGood! (269)
Related
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Caitlin Clark to the Olympics, Aces will win third title: 10 bold predictions for the 2024 WNBA season
- '9-1-1' stars talk Maddie and Chimney's roller-coaster wedding, Buck's 'perfect' gay kiss
- Republicans file lawsuit to block count of Nevada mail ballots received after Election Day
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Tiffany Haddish Reveals the Surprising Way She's Confronting Online Trolls
- A shooting over pizza delivery mix-up? Small mistakes keep proving to be dangerous in USA.
- Who won Deion Sanders' social media battles this week? He did, according to viewership
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Missouri abortion-rights campaign turns in more than double the needed signatures to get on ballot
Ranking
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach Look Back at Their Exits From ABC Amid Rob Marciano’s Departure
- Torrential rains inundate southeastern Texas, causing flooding that has closed schools and roads
- Marijuana backers eye proposed federal regulatory change as an aid to legalizing pot in more states
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Jewish students grapple with how to respond to pro-Palestinian campus protests
- Who Will Replace Katy Perry on American Idol? Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken Have the Perfect Pitch
- New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez wants psychiatrist to testify about his habit of stockpiling cash
Recommendation
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
Judge in Trump’s hush money case clarifies gag order doesn’t prevent ex-president from testifying
Flowers, candles, silence as Serbia marks the 1st anniversary of mass shooting at a Belgrade school
Ashley Graham’s 2-Year-Old Son Roman Gets Stitches on His Face
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Treat Yourself With the Top 28 Trending Beauty Products on Amazon Right Now Starting at Just $1
'Freedom to Learn' protesters push back on book bans, restrictions on Black history
Zebra remains on the loose in Washington state as officials close trailheads to keep people away