Film Review: MONKEY MAN (2024): Dev Patel’s Intense Action Picture is One of the Best of Recent Revenge Thrillers

Monkey Man Review

Monkey Man (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Dev Patel, written by Paul Angunawela, John Collee and Dev Patel and starring Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Adithi Kalkunte, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar and Makrand Deshpande.

Dev Patel co-writes, stars in and directs the intense, relentless and blood-soaked action thriller, Monkey Man. This movie is a work of extremely satisfying craftsmanship. Patel is at his best when he’s engaged in fight scenes which are sprinkled throughout the film’s heavy-handed story line. Patel’s no-real-name character in Monkey Man hits bottles over people’s heads and fights back at a breakneck pace in a movie that is edited almost as perfectly as any of the films which were nominated for Oscars in editing last year. This new film will stand out for action fans as one of the wildest rides of 2024.

As the movie opens we see Patel’s character wearing a gorilla mask as it is announced by a shady promoter, Tiger (Sharlto Copley), that a fight is about to occur. After participating in a match, Patel doesn’t get the money he was promised. Then, the movie shows what it really has in store for its audience. A purse of a very important person in society gets lifted and makes its way across town to Patel who returns the purse and asks for a job in return. When he’s granted his request, the movie takes off with some action sequences that have a very distinct purpose although you may not put all the reasoning behind these scenes together immediately.

This film is a true revenge picture through and through. We see how the Patel character’s mother (Adithi Kalkunte) is mistreated and abused in effective flashback sequences. We learn she was brutally murdered by the vicious authoritative figure, Rana (Sikandar Kher), and another higher up (Makrand Deshpande) is not too innocent either in terms of the way he does business with the no-good Rana.

One of the best parts of the movie takes us through a sleazy brothel where Patel’s character ends up ultimately confronting a vicious pimp and there’s a sex scene that is just as unexpectedly interspersed into the film that proves to be a shockingly interesting and humorous moment, to say the least. This full action scene in the film is nothing, though, when compared to the last twenty-five minutes or so of the movie which are truly a pure adrenaline rush.

Patel’s character’s hands are scarred so the audience will await the moment where all the details surrounding those scars are revealed. This film doesn’t spare the audience any graphic scenes of explanation which help develop the movie’s plot and justify the violence that occurs throughout. Another character of interest is Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar) who comes in late in the picture with a volatile scene that will have audiences yearning to see what will happen to her.

When Patel’s character dons the monkey mask another time for a fight to earn money to save those less fortunate people who he associates with, it becomes a scene where we start to realize what has become of this character. He has been beaten up, chewed up and spit out by society and those who wronged him by taking his mother’s life. He is fighting for the greater good to save those who are currently being abused in society and those who can’t fight for themselves, making his inevitable sacrifices worthwhile in the end.

As the characters all coalesce at the conclusion, the movie takes flight with some of the best action you may see at the movies this year. Rival fighters start going at each other while Patel tries to finish out his revenge plans. This film also shows moving footage of Patel’s tortured character when he was young and when his mother was still alive. Monkey Man is at its very best, though, when Patel is fighting those who stand in the way of happiness for him and his friends. One character seems to have taken Patel out at a key moment, but the ending will please those who love violent action scenes that may make old Tarantino film action sequences pale a bit in comparison.

Patel, as an actor, is astonishingly good in the central role. He’s pretty much a large chunk of the action and he’s relatable even when he’s past the breaking point. You’ll root for him even though you may suspect he’ll face consequences for his actions, however justified they may be. The supporting cast is compelling with Kher playing a dirty cop slimy enough to deserve whatever’s coming to him. Let’s not forget Pitobash’s intriguing character either who ends up playing a rather significant part in the action which I will leave audiences to discover for themselves.

Monkey Man doesn’t take any prisoners. it pulls out all the stops and is going to get where it’s going at any cost. Patel’s fearless direction sometimes feels a bit too over-the-top but the fact that audiences will respect the character he plays makes the choices Patel makes behind the camera come off as successful and the movie achieves a lot by creating real tension throughout the story line, especially in the last half hour.

While Monkey Man may be a bit too political at times and has one too many scenes where Patel’s character feels invincible, it still stands as one of the best recent action pictures to come out of Hollywood. Revenge pictures haven’t been this chock full of violent vengeance in some time. John Woo fans take note although Patel may have created his own distinct style of action film which will surely try to be duplicated in movies going forward. Monkey Man just doesn’t let up.

Rating: 8/10

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