MONKEY MAN (2024) – Review

Since we’re now into the slow slide from Easter/Spring Break into the Summer cinema season, how about an MMA-style action thriller full of fights and daring escapes? Oh, you say we just had that in the remake of ROAD HOUSE just a couple of weeks ago. Well that flick, despite the director’s protests to the press, bypassed the multiplex and went right to a streaming service. And this new release almost went the same route until an Oscar-winning filmmaker saw it, bought it, and helped prep it for a wide theatrical debut. Oh, and speaking of debuts, this is the first feature directed by the star of a Best Picture Oscar winner over a dozen years ago. Yes, he was the lead in that, and he’s in the lead here as the mysterious avenger who is known as the MONKEY MAN. And no, he’s not another comics-based hero.

Rather, his moniker is based on mythology. In the flashback opening sequences, a young mother and her six or seven-year-old son enjoy the peaceful countryside as she tells him of the Indian animal deity Hanuman AKA the “monkey god”. Flash forward to now in an underground mixed martial arts “fight club” somewhere in bustling Mumbai. One of the brawlers is a lanky fellow wearing a rubber simian mask, along with a filthy tank top and sweatpants. Moments after being introduced by the preening ring MC “Tiger” (Sharlito Copley), the Monkey Man (Dev Patel) is pummeled by “King Cobra”. On his way to the locker room, he endures the taunts of a connected “hustler” named Alphonso (Pitobash). MM who also uses the name Bobby tolerates him since he’s part of his master plan to get a job at the exclusive VIP club where Alphonso works. His boss is a cruel mistress named, naturally, “Queenie” (Ashwini Kalsekar). With the aid of several “street people” Bobby gets her wallet, only to return it to her. Instead of a cash reward, Bobby asks for a job in the kitchen. With an assist from Alphonso (he bets on Monkey Man to take a “dive”), Bobby becomes a server in the ultra-exclusive top floor “playpen” where Queenie provides beauties trafficked from around the globe to international “high rollers”. At last, Bobby spots his reason for being there, his “target” a corrupt sadistic police captain named Rana (Sikandar Kher). Seeing him unleashes many painful childhood memories from Bobby’s time in that forest with his mother. Eventually, Bobby saves up to buy a gun, and then figures out a way to get it past the many security “checkpoints”. So does his revenge scenario play out as planned, or will Rana survive and exact his own vengeance?

Building upon the fighting skills he used six years ago in THE WEDDING GUEST, Patel proves more powerful than his tall, slender physique would suggest. In his bouts, we see, despite the mask, a man in a near-constant panic as he struggles in the opening matches. And that same emotion is echoed in the big high-rise throwdown when things go more than a bit “sideways”. That’s not to say that Patel’s often stoic Bobby is all furious fists and feet. His downturned eyes hint at the heavy weight of family tragedy that almost forms a dark cloud over him. He’s not full of 80s action star quips and snark, and barely makes any human connections. Luckily he does befriend one of the “menu women”, a haunted beauty named Sita played with gentle power by Sobhita Dhulipala. Well, Bobby also connects with a hungry “alley pup’, which brings some extra pathos. And the laughs are provided by a talented trio, Pitobash is a motor-mouthed wiseguy whose bravado distracts from his own tragic past. Kalsekar is a foul-mouthed mini-tornado of disdain and abuse (toward her “staff”). And Copley is the ultimate hammy, and quite swarmy, host as he plays to the crowds while insulting the real “talent”. They’re all an amusing counterpoint to the sneering Kher who makes Rana a great villain more than worthy of our hisses and boos.

Yes, as I alluded to earlier, Patel is making his feature film directing debut while also producing and contributing to the script. And what an ambitious undertaking as he’s in nearly every scene with most consisting of very intense fight choreography (and Patel did take his “lumps” via broken bones and even an eye infection). Aside from the stunts, he creates a great gritty atmosphere as we get “down and dirty” on those dusty streets where denizens scramble for space. One memorable image is Patel’s Bobby in the center of dozens of people “sardine-style” as they try to sleep under a nosy auto overpass. These scenes are in great contrast to the gorgeous flashbacks of a forest paradise (that waterfall). But soon we’re back on the move, as Patel often uses a POV angle to place us right in the mayhem as he ramps up a big pursuit that even takes a second to inject some satire (window jumps are tough). And sure, it’s in the JOHN WICK “wheelhouse” with one bit of dialogue referencing the series. Though this is unique as it hooks us with the fairy-tale legends and the political backdrops. Yes, there’s something of a lull between the two major action “set-pieces” in which we get more backstory and the obligatory “training montage”, but the wait is more than worth it as the finale is truly epic Patel is a terrific physical actor and shows us that he’s a filmmaker to watch (just like the flick’s “savior” Jordan Peele) with the fighting fable of MONKEY MAN.

3 out of 4

MONKEY MAN is now playing in theatres everywhere