Dev Patel has been great onscreen for some time, turning in terrific performance in films like Slumdog Millionaire, Lion, and The Green Knight. Now he steps up to the plate both in front of and behind the camera, writing and directing the new action thriller Monkey Man all while starring in the leading role. If you haven't heard all the behind the scenes details from this film I highly urge you to do so. From the pandemic halting production, to complications within the filming bubble, to Patel himself breaking his hand during a fight scene, and the eventual shelving of the film by Netflix only for Jordan Peele to buy it for theatrical exhibition, it genuinely feels like a miracle that the film was made and we get to see it now. It's clear that Patel gave his everything to this despite the setbacks, and the end result is one of the best revenge movies we've gotten in some time.
The film opens on Patel's character working as an underground fighter, basically letting himself get beaten in order to make money. When he finds a way to infiltrate and work in a restaurant/club servicing the elite of his city, the plot is set in place as he seeks vengeance against the people that turned his life upside down as a child. When it comes to the central storyline, it's hard to get more narratively straightforward than this, and I don't mean that as a bad thing. This is a pretty traditional revenge story following Patel's character fighting his way through everyone standing between him and the men who wronged him. Rather than clunky exposition dumps, the reasoning for his character's need for vengeance is unveiled through several really well done flashbacks throughout the film, showing the story rather than telling.
Aside from the central revenge story there are some religious/political subplots that didn't totally work for me. Part of this could be that I just don't know much of anything about Indian politics, but I think there is also just a bit of the inherent messiness that can come from a first time filmmaker. Either way, they are a piece of the puzzle here that just didn't click with me as I watched it. There is also a point right around the middle of the film where the first half concludes in an exciting way but then the pacing falters a bit for 15-20 minutes. It is never bad, it just drags a bit at this point but then comes back swinging for a fantastic finale.
The real seller for this film is the action. Ever since the trailer dropped there have been John Wick comparisons, and with the wild action complimenting this kind of revenge story the comparisons make sense. This doesn't hit the highs of John Wick, but it doesn't need to. It delivers well over an hour's worth of brutal, brilliantly choreographed action, with Patel taking hit after hit but certainly delivering some of his own as well. Along with the fantastic action, the production is quite great. The camerawork is often frantic and exciting, but also has moments where it slows down to deliver some truly satisfying visuals. The production designers apparently had a crazy tough time with elements not showing up in time and other things too expensive but they persevered and created some extremely cool spaces which also function cleverly into the action.
I really loved this. Dev Patel has been an actor I've always had an eye on and his transition to the director's chair is seamless. It's clear this was by no means easy to make, so I couldn't be happier that the result of all the hard work from those involved is one of the best action movies we've had in a while.
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