Monkey Man

Written and Directed: Dev Patel

Co-writers: John Collee, Paul Angunawela

Dev Patel is down on his luck, scrapping for a living, including as the fall guy in a fight club run by Tiger (Sharlto Copley) where he fights as Monkey Man. Looking to take a step up he cons his way into a job at a rich man’s club run by Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar). A club where the rich and powerful congregate including the Chief of Police (Sikandar Kher) who is linked to influential religious leader Baba Shakti (Makarand Deshpande). When Patel’s character befriends hotel fixer Alphonso (Pitobash) it becomes clear this is less about work and more about vengeance for a childhood trauma and his vengeance will be bloody!

This is Patel’s directorial debut and perhaps unexpected that it’s a Mumbai based, very violent, revenge thriller. While it is not hugely original it is stylish and well done and would not look out of place in the John Wick cannon.

Set in India (although filmed in Indonesia) it uses its location well to tell the story. It shows poverty alongside riches and corruption. It shows religion, mysticism, persecution and violence. It looks great, using the chaos of India for fantastic set pieces, including the worlds fastest tut tut.

Action is well choreographed and Patel slips seamlessly into an action role, channeling more than a touch of Keanu Reeves. It’s a film that won’t escape the John Wick comparisons but those comparisons are a compliment.

It’s not prefect and is a little baggy in the middle third as Monkey Man finds his purpose. This includes a Rocky montage as he readies himself for the final showdown with the help of a transgender group living in a temple under the guidance of Alpha (Vipin Sharma). But this aside, this is an entertaining well done genre film.

Monkey Man is an entertaining, although extremely violent, revenge thriller. Dev Patel delivers a strong directorial debut as well as slipping comfortably into an action lead role. It looks great with some excellent action set pieces. While it’s not perfect it is a stylish and fun revenge thriller.