Monkey Man (2024) - film review

Dev Patel just "springboard-ed" his own career. What an electrifying filmmaker debut.

It's hard to imagine an intense action-thriller like this with SO much passion, perseverance and personal touch to it was almost shelved onto Netflix directly. Jordan Peele deserves even more respect professionally for bringing this killer (literally) debut by Patel from the depths of Netflix's catalog and having it screened worldwide, deservingly, for moviegoers to witness the sheer potential, and hardwork, of Dev Patel.

Still of Dev Patel in Monkey Man

(Credits: Universal Pictures, Bron Studios, Thunder Road Films and Monkeypaw Productions)

Monkey Man (2024) is not a perfect film, both objectively and subjectively. By setting this straight, I think we can all appreciate Patel's efforts better. The story he tells here is one probably seen by cinephiles at least fifty times throughout their lives - the underdog-revenge tale. What Patel does, however, that sets both him and this film apart from the majority of other similar flicks, is the personal-touch factor of it all.

As its writer, director, co-producer and star, Patel injects life into this anonymous titular character that it comes across as though this was a true story of his life and the reality in the streets of Mumbai and India at large. The former is less accurate than the latter as it turns out.

Still of Dev Patel and Pitobash in Monkey Man
(Credits: Universal Pictures, Bron Studios, Thunder Road Films and Monkeypaw Productions)

Being a debut after all, Monkey Man has its fair share of imperfections, and may I add, coincidentally, some of these aspects are also where the film excels in.

For instance, Patel's story is very thorough in the sense that viewers get to see and understand the protagonist's entire journey, including his past and the reasons behind his motivations in the film. In the same aspect, the focus and runtime also compromised a few of the important supporting characters whose actions and interactions with the main character had a clear impact on the narrative, such as Alphonso (played by Pitobash), whose fate is unclear by the end of the film even though he reappeared in a scene in the third act.

Another example is, although I'd prefer to explain and describe this from its downside and then what's good about it, the shaky-cam in the cinematography in certain scenes. Many people, critics and audiences alike, have alluded to this problem. While I recognize how it could annoy some, I grew to consider this as a weirdly brilliant part in the storytelling. As if not already obvious enough, the premises where most of the film's action takes place in, are chaotic, and if anything, the shaky-cam kinda fits that feeling of messiness in the midst of the fights and chases.

Sikandar Kher as "Rana Singh" in Monkey Man

(Credits: Universal Pictures, Bron Studios, Thunder Road Films and Monkeypaw Productions)

Apart from Patel's grounded, harrowing yet spellbinding lead performance, it's irresistible to ignore one of the film's main villains - Rana Singh, played by Sikandar Kher. Kher's turn as the vicious police chief successfully got me fist-clenched for nearly all the screen-time he has, and I bet hundreds or thousands of viewers all over the world share my experience. It's a performance so effective that one simply cannot help but wish Patel's character succeeds in his quest no matter the mayhem.

With its unrestrained depiction of strong and brutal violence, as well as a handful of explicit sexual content, the film is destined to turn some people away, both because of the rating and classification as well as in terms of taste in film. Nevertheless, Patel's filmmaking debut, flawed in certain areas as expected anyway, is overall an impressive attempt both in front of and behind the camera. Cliché as it sounds, all eyes are on Patel's next move (especially as a filmmaker), and I cannot wait to see what else he got up his sleeve.

Monkey Man earned 7.5 out of 10 in my ratings.

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