Cast of Monkey Man
Monkey Man Ratings & Reviews
- rg9400November 1, 2024Monkey Man was a decent directorial debut. I went into it expecting a standard revenge thriller that has become so popular in the wake of John Wick, but I think it has a bit more depth to it than that. A bit. It sort of indirectly tries to tackle more complex sociopolitical criticisms, but it doesn't really do so head-on, making it feel a bit tacked on. The cinematography is at times really stylish and striking, and at other times, devolves a bit into shaky cameras and quick edits that feel chaotic during action sequences. Dev Patel is a star, but this isn't necessarily the best showcase of his acting. I think, for a debut, it's still surprisingly strong, and I prefer this to something like John Wick because it does attempt to at least give the character more depth. Though it does drag a bit in the first half, specifically near the middle. The second half is much stronger. I think the movie is at its best when it is setting the scene with some beautiful non-action cinematography.
- Kevin WardJuly 2, 2025Monkey Man if nothing else puts Writer/Director/Star Dev Patel on full display as a creative force. You can feel the passion and drive emanating off the screen. The tight close-ups and shaky cam aesthetic of most action scenes particularly early on will surely frustrate some. But I think it imbued the film with a messy but ferocious energy that fit perfectly with the story. Indeed as Patel’s skills level up throughout the movie we see the camera steady and pull back slightly from the action, the choreography becomes more elegant along with the costuming and settings—it’s as if the film itself is leveling up along with the kid or “Bobby”. The fact that this is Patel’s first directorial feature also lends itself to the feeling that Dev himself is leveling up as a director as the story progresses. I think this aspect is altogether unintentional, but I couldn’t help but feel that while watching it. As for the story, it is a straight forward revenge thriller that incorporates some elements of Indian Hindu mythology, spirituality and politics into the narrative, albeit with fairly broad strokes. Still it’s completely refreshing perspective from a mostly Western production. Overall, I was extremely entertained by Monkey Man. Brutal and bloody fight scenes (so many stabbings), and Dev Patel’s passion is splattered all over the screen. Highly recommend.
- Yuvi RandhawaMay 20, 2025Dev Patel the icon you are. Trailblazer for the South Asian artists out there, this is an important film for the culture I promise you
- Mio AkiyamaMarch 12, 2025Super good movie with constant stream of action, fighting scenes have great choreograrphy and the plot is easy to understand and appreciate.
- j.pete6November 2, 2024DEV PATEL GOES MONKEY MODE. GOOD SOUP, MUST WATCH
- RyezooFebruary 4, 2025Ambitious…. But messy. There is some good stuff here but also some things that just didn’t work. At times the action looked phenomenal, at other times I couldn’t follow what was happening with the shakey cam and the way some of it was cut. I liked the story and exploring the past. The training break between 2nd and 3rd act was the weakest part of the movie. Also felt little unsatisfying with the way it wraps. I think Dev showed some good traits though and will definitely check out whatever he does next. Shout out to Shantel Copley, he’s great as always!
- VarunJanuary 26, 2025A movie that is a little rough around the edges but works due to the passion it exudes. Dev Patel’s acting was pretty good and he really sells the revenge arc. All action movies require a suspense of disbelief but the first sequence of the movie asked for too much with some awkward cuts, overly shaky camera and a mediocre car chase. However it does a great job of establishing the brutal intensity and carnage that Dev is going for. Rana’s character is despicable and menacing with a dominating physique, it makes you want to root even more for Dev. The actor who played the evil Baba did a really good job too, and it’s also pretty funny that he looks very similar to my dad lol. Alphonso provided some nice comic relief. I really liked the representation of the Hijra community, Alpha was a cool character that, despite using some cheesy dialogue, really grounds Dev with some good wisdom. I’m a sucker for trippy scenes so I enjoyed the visuals of Dev opening his chest, but I found the whole Hanuman connection lacking. For a movie named Monkey Man I think they should’ve incorporated more monkey style martial arts and also in that trippy scene they could’ve visually represented how Dev taps into the human evolutionary past to embody the stronger traits of primates to help him achieve his revenge. The monkey/hanuman aspect is only used as a kind of mental/spiritual inspiration rather than any physical manifestation. There is so much depth in Indian philosophy and mythology but for some reason movies only expound on it in the most vague ways possible. Now I absolutely loved the training arc because one of my favourite bands of all time is Shakti and I’m a huge fan of Zakir Hussain. As soon as I saw him I had a huge grin on my face. For those of you who don’t know this, in many Indian Classical Music concerts, two musicians with different instruments will have a battle where they take turns playing the same musical beats and tones. To see that parallel with the punching bag and tabla was so freaking good. The soundtrack for the movie was also good and I liked some of the rap music choices. The final fight sequence was shot really well, and despite me usually preferring purely raw sounds, I actually enjoyed the somber music that played during the bar fight. I personally liked the close up cinematic choices and also enjoyed the visual tone of the whole movie, I think it’s imperfect but that somehow adds more depth to the gritty nature of the story. I feel like the runtime was a bit long, a lot of the early flashbacks to Dev’s past was a bit unnecessary and removes some of the mystery. It reminded me of the constant use of flashbacks in older anime. The final reveal of the full picture of his past was great and powerful in mirroring the violent events that have taken place in India and still continue to happen to this day. The Baba and political allusions was underbaked but I still thought its addition and the visual montage at the end provided some powerful emotional commentary on the downward direction that fundamentalism and populism is taking India in. Dev’s strong passion for many social issues and his bold decision to share it through a John Wick style action film is such a commendable endeavour, especially considering it’s his directorial debut. The flaws can be forgiven and I hope to see more finesse in Dev’s future projects. I’m so glad to finally see more western action movie projects incorporate South Asian countries and cultures like Extraction, Polite Society and now Monkey Man, there’s so much untapped potential and I really hope our communities actually support and recommend these movies as much as possible.
- b.evil.cOctober 14, 2024Not the movie I expected but so much better for that.
