Monkey Man

Review: Dev Patel really did his thing here. This film was thrilling and action packed from start to finish which is exactly what you want from an action thriller. Some points of note for me were the story, the cinematography, and the stunt choreography. The story and the protagonist’s plan were complex, but not confusing (also I need to mention how much I loved the idea of him using the dog). The cinematography was very appealing and they helped really bring the fight scenes to life. My favorite was the ending fight through the kitchen, elevator, & bar room with changing camera angles. Now the fighting was legendary. The scene I just mentioned, plus the bathroom fight scene, the axe scene, and the wrestling scenes are all so well done. I loved that the protagonist’s fighting style, especially at the start of the movie, was extremely rough and unrefined instead of looking too polished. He fights like somebody who learned to fight by getting beat up a lot.

High: While I thought about putting the fight choreography here (that’s why I talk about it length above), the real high of this movie is that it even exists. Dev Patel wanted to see a John Wick-style action movie starring an Indian man, so he made one. Not only does Patel star in the film (which he’s great at), but he also wrote, directed, and produced it. The film was going to go straight to Netflix but received a theatrical release and a huge marketing push due to the help of Jordan Peele. I love seeing someone (Patel) be so passionate about a movie concept that he just creates it and goes all in.

Low: Okay, this is such a dumb complaint and I know that. It’s not really even a complaint, more of just a preference. Dev Patel is a good looking dude, but I would’ve loved to see more of his character wearing the monkey mask just because I thought his costume was incredibly cool, especially once he bleached it.

Rating: 8/10