Monkey Man

Monkey Man is a watchable action flick that lacks depth in its storytelling. Set in India, the narrative revolves around religious beliefs and addresses issues surrounding godmen and their false prophecies. While the action sequences are brilliantly choreographed and a treat for action movie lovers, the story fails to delve deeply into the themes it touches on.

As a result, I couldn't emotionally connect with the main character, played by Dev Patel. The plot ultimately feels like a typical revenge tale. Although the filmmakers seem to draw inspiration from John Wick, they fall short of fully replicating its impact.

That said, I appreciate how the movie highlights significant issues, such as the exploitation of religious beliefs by godmen, the politics around them, the land encroachment affecting the poor, and other social concerns. The visuals are stunning, and Dev Patel delivers a commendable performance, though there's little scope for other actors to shine.

On the bright side, the movie is engaging from start to finish without any lags. Overall, it's a decent one-time watch for action enthusiasts.

Got to see an early screening of Monkey Man. I had good expectations going off the trailer and they were met and beyond.

The film starts off well and builds momentum for a decent revenge arc although it is hard to follow sometimes. The shakey camera work contributes to this as well as the dialogue not being particularly clear.

However what takes this film from good to great is the final third. The music, the action, the violence, it was just so incredibly well done especially for first time director. I couldn't take my eyes off it and didn't know what to expect next.

Thank you Jordan peele for saving this from streaming as this deserves to be seen on the big screen!

If you had told me a year ago that Dev Patel would play India's answer to John Wick, I would have thought you were crazy, but here we are with Monkey Man, in which the actor directs himself as a man determined to take revenge on the people who murdered his mother and stole their land.

The film features plenty of brutal fight action - a mix of gun play and hand to hand combat - but Patel succumbs to that irritating trend - shaky cam with rapid editing; I'm sure this technique hides a multitude of sins, but it always feels a bit like a cop out to me and makes it rather difficult to follow the action. Monkey Man also suffers from erratic pacing, with lulls in the action that go on for a tad too long. If Patel had had the confidence to shoot his fight scenes in a less chaotic manner and had kept the pace more consistent, I think the film would have been better for it.

That said, I didn't dislike the movie as a whole - Patel does well in his role as avenging angel and the level of violence is impressive. I definitely had far more fun with Monkey Man than either of the other two big screen releases I have seen recently: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Godzilla x Kong, both of which were hugely disappointing.

"Only God can forgive you now"

Man. What a wild ride. Violent, fast paced yet beautifully shot. Great effort by Dev Patel on his directorial debut. He has managed to create a worthwhile action film with some great set pieces, neck, breaking stunts and an overall good looking film.

I think what triumphs the most is the fast pace, headache inducing editing (this is a positive) with some great colour schemes and set pieces. It's fast paced editing matched the chaotic streets of India, mixed with its rich culture and history.

The soundtrack was reminiscent of John Wick, with it's party scenes and colour palette. There was some great cinematography, especially through its use of silhouettes towards the final act.

You can see the directors, aim to portray the monkey man, as a legendary figure who supports the powerless, and the impoverished of India's lower class. He makes a stand against those who are in control, which is a great pairing for an action/revenge film.

I will say that the second act does falter a bit in its speed and does drag down in some places however, it quickly picks up pace again in the last act where monkey man turns into a proper beast.

You can see the message the director portrayed as he highlights the inequality surrounding the poor in India and uses this medium to show that there is hope and people willing to make a stand against those who are in control.

All in all a decent action film with great choreography, stunts, soundtrack and editing. This is an enjoyable watch, but doesn't elevate much further than your standard action flick.

All praise for Indian John Wick!

Huge Dev Patel fan. Monkey Man is the first movie I've gone to see in the theaters in a very long time. I just don't get interested enough to not wait for it to be streaming.

Monkey Man compelled me to go. It's probably the best movie trailer I've ever seen, or at least one of the best.

The problem with the trailer that I foresee is many are going to walk out of the theater feeling misled.

If you're an action movie fan, DO NOT GO SEE THIS IN THEATERS. Wait for streaming. This is a drama with elements of action and crime thriller. Anyone going in who thinks this is like John Wick will be sorely disappointed. The problem is, that's the impression the trailer gives.

I'm actually not even a John Wick fan. I like action movies, but I don't seek them out often. What I thought could make Monkey Man special was the added substance of Indian mythology, culture, and a more fleshed out character drama that was hinted at in the trailer.

Some of that was present, but it didn't come together nearly as well as I had hoped. I don't agree with the severe criticism of the action scenes and how they were filmed. I thought they were good and the shaky cam didn't bother me. Could it have been better? Probably. But I think the criticism there is overblown.

Where the film missed its mark for me was the story itself. The first act was good, but in the second act it ground to a halt for 40 minutes or so of more of what we already learned in act 1, at the expense of pacing. Some parts were fleshed out way too much while other parts weren't fleshed out enough, making it feel off almost the whole movie. The supporting characters didn't get enough of this, which didn't help us care about them and also care about them joining the fight with our protagonist.

I'm genuinely surprised at some of Dev's choices in Act 2. I actually admire him for trying to make a movie with more substance that could be called action to some degree, but I just think he didn't nail the blend of these things with Monkey Man. You could argue that he tried to do too much. There was a significant amount of extended flashback used throughout even up to the very end. This ended up taking us out of the present and hurting the flow of the story.

I think Monkey Man as Dev Patel envisioned it might have been much better as a limited series. So that he could take his time and flesh everything out the way he wanted. Because again, there were some great elements in this movie. Good acting, good cinematography, good music (although it sounds as if it was more stereotypical Indian music and other cultural elements used), some great fight scene moments, and some fun bits. It just doesn't add up to a great movie.

Someone else mentioned they felt detached a bit, and I agree. Despite the protagonist's story having the right emotional elements to draw us in, it didn't do it as much I had hoped for me.

What I envision is a lot of people going into this expecting a pure action thrill ride, and they're going to be bored. Again, this is a drama, and one that I wanted to like more than I did.

This doesn't sour me on Dev at all. He may have just bit off more than he could chew with this one, but he had the balls to go for it, and I respect that.