Monkey Man Review — Kid Goes Ape

Who doesn’t love a good action thriller? Monkey Man is an action movie set in India that pits one scrappy fighter against the man who killed his mother. While starring as the main character – Kid – Dev Patel (The Green Knight) also wrote and directed the movie, in his feature directorial debut. Monkey Man also stars Sharlto Copley (Chappie), Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm), Adithi Kalkunte (Hotel Mumbai), Sikandar Kher (24), Sobhita Dhulipala (Major), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai), and Makrand Deshpande (Sarfarosh). 

Beginning as a quest for vengeance, Kid coincidentally gets embroiled in a deeper fight to take down a conspiracy of corrupt officials. While it does have its fun moments, Monkey Man attempts to have a deeper message about inequality, and the little guy fighting back. Kid starts off as fairly inexperienced, a street fighter. Through a scheme, he manages to gain access to a high-profile club, one that the man who killed his mother happens to be a patron of. Oh, and he’s the police chief, a man named Rana (Kher).

All Hail the New King In Town

At first, Kid’s plan doesn’t go down smoothly, forcing him to retreat. After a training montage with some temple folk, he gains the power to defeat his enemies; all while remembering the stories his mother used to tell him when he was a kid, stories of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Hanuman is a monkey-like figure, which is why he wears a monkey mask while he fights. The story is fairly straightforward, and it never gets too farfetched. 

The biggest problem with the movie is that it’s poorly paced. The first half is loaded with flashbacks to Kid’s mother. The dual purpose of those flashbacks is to fill the movie with heart and inform Kid’s character and his motivations. For the most part, that is exactly what happens. But by the second flashback, the audience already knows why he’s embarking on his journey, we don’t need to be bombarded with flashbacks to reinforce that. The flashbacks take us away from the interesting modern narrative, with its anxiety-filled tension and impactful action scenes, only to bring us to a repetitive one-note backstory. 

They make Monkey Man feel much longer than it is. Clocking in at 121 minutes, it could’ve used more scenes with the side characters – who are all extremely interesting – rather than retreading the superhero-like origin story. With that being said, the narrative isn’t all that bad. Monkey Man is a basic action movie revenge story that gets broadly political. It just doesn’t get much deeper than saying that the rich and powerful get away with everything and that it takes empowered regular people to stop them. Although, that does coincide with an interesting transgender/minority plotline. But, again that storyline isn’t taken far enough to be too compelling. 

Are You the Monkey Man?

Even if the story was so-so, the characters and the performances are tremendous. Each character feels lived in, so much so that it was disappointing when some of the side characters didn’t get much to do. Alphonso (Pitobash) has the perfect comedic energy that the film needs, and Sita (Dhulipala) is hauntingly charming in the two or three scenes she shares with Kid. Patel’s performance is terrific as well, which is the main reason the flashbacks feel redundant. We know that Kid is suffering because we can read Patel’s face. He so clearly displays the anxiety, stress, rage, and sorrow that the character feels.

That’s without mentioning the main villain, Rana. Kher plays the character impeccably, and you hate him from the moment he’s on the screen. He’s so arrogant and evil, but Kher plays him with a touch of cowardice when he knows he might be beaten. It was a joy to watch Kid beat him up. None of the action scenes disappoint, with Nobody-like humorous realism injected throughout. You will feel every hit, with blood staining the walls, and the crunch of bones vibrating through the theater. 

The set design and cinematography are nothing to scoff at, either. Both serve to enrich both the story and action scenes and they do so effectively. It’s a beautiful-looking action movie that is filled with color. There are plenty of purples and reds that make the action pop with every swing of the camera – of which there are many. Monkey Man’s loaded with culture too. The final fight takes place during Diwali, and Kid is inspired by Hanuman, which we mentioned previously. It does go a little further with some stellar costume design, but we won’t spoil that here. 

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Jed Kurzel’s (The Babadook) soundtrack fits the different moods of the film well. When Kid’s feeling anxious, the score does a good job of amplifying that, and the same goes for most of the violent scenes. However, there is a choice with the sound mix in one of the later fights that was baffling. The music overpowers the action, drowning out the sounds of the violence, in what could have been the fight of the film. 

At the end of the day, Monkey Man is a well-made action movie and it will satisfy fans of the genre. Just don’t expect the thrills to be consistent. If you’re a fan of the “one guy gets a gun and kills everyone in his way” or “John Wick-like” subgenre of film, get some popcorn and go check this one out at the theater. If you love Dev Patel, you’ll also probably want to see it on the big screen. Otherwise, you can wait until it becomes available digitally. You can see Monkey Man for yourself when it hits theaters on April 5, 2024.