Monkey Man

An unnamed protagonist who we first meet in a monkey mask being beaten to a pulp in a boxing ring is on a mission of vengeance against those responsible for the death of his mother. Credited simply as “Kid” (Dev Patel) we will watch him work his way up to a final rampage against those who have wronged him. 

Monkey Man was advertised as Dev Patel’s British Indian version of John Wick. Whilst Wick is certainly an influence and a meta joke features within the film it is actually just one of many films that have influenced Patel’s directorial debut. In fact I’d argue that the film suffers from the fact that it has too many ideas coursing through it, but more on that later. 

Working his way into the employment of club owner Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar) Kid starts out as a man who is resourceful and patient. He begins relationships with comic relief sidekick Alphonso (Pitobash) and sex worker Sita (Sobhita Dhulipala) that show both his eye for someone who can help him get where he needs to be and his caring attitude towards others. His fighting skills are not quite up to scratch though so we will also see him in some training montages and also a large number of flashbacks to help drip feed to us his motivations. When the fighting begins it is brutal, chaotic and close up. The film’s 18 certificate is earned many times over and it’s exhilarating stuff. 

My biggest issue with the film though is that it felt erratic in its focus and whilst featuring spectacular sequences and a wonderful lead performance it struggled as a result of being a melting pot of ideas. Alphonso and Sita mentioned earlier both fade from the story making it feel like they provided the protagonist with the requisite plot development before being forgotten. The flashback sequences of Kid with his mother featured the classic Terence Malick camera work with overlapping voiceover. The final fight sequences owed much to The Raid both in the fact he is going floor by floor in the nightclub and the style of fighting. The social conscience whilst completely valid results in a rather meandering and slow middle third. Whilst the Indian God mythology and the gloriously sleazy Tiger (Sharlto Copley) sub plots are intriguing but again overpack an already packed film. 

Is it a bad film? Absolutely not. It is brimming with ideas and has the ability to exhilarate like no other. The undeniably brilliant Dev Patel who co-writes, stars and directs has both a physical presence and magnetic charisma like no other. With a little more streamlining and focus it would have been superb. As it is it’s a calling card that shows Dev Patel has more to offer as a writer and director.