Verdict: 3./5
Chaotic is a good way to describe Dev Patel’s directorial debut with ‘Monkey Man’, not that it’s necessarily a bad thing.
Patel co-writes, stars and directs this fast-paced action flick, where power and money rule and revenge is at its core.
Patel stars as ‘Kid’, who fights behind a gorilla mask at an underground fight club. He may not the best fighter on the card, but it’s money in the hand and clearly there’s a bigger goal at play.
The bigger goal becomes clear when Kid lands a job in a high end club that attracts political leaders and city officials, including the Chief of Police (Sikandar Kher), who we learn destroyed Kid’s life.
As ‘Kid’ seeks revenge, the body count grows – and the violence deepens.
‘Monkey Man’ is certainly a wild ride, and there’s little consistency – one minute we’re going through a lengthy quiet patch with little action, the next we’re watching a flurry of punches, kicks and gunshots – it certainly goes from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye.
The film is exceptionally well edited and shot, and at times you feel like you’re right in the room with them.
But it’s impossible to escape that it’s almost too stop-start at times, and definitely 20-odd minutes too long.
If you’re an action fan, you’ll find plenty of highs in ‘Monkey Man’ – there’s certainly some pretty impressive fight scenes and a particularly bloody kill scene that will have you turning away with eyes closed.
The story is reasonable enough to carry it through, but it doesn’t go to a level that makes it a memorable flick or re-watch material.
See this movie at Hoyts Penrith.
Troy Dodds is the Weekender’s Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.
