IR Film Review: MONKEY MAN [Universal]
"Monkey Man" in certain ways wants to be the second coming of "John Wick" but from an Indian point of view. While what star/director Dev Patel does is admirable and his heart is fully in it, the movie doesn't truly hit its stride until the last 1/4 of the film. That said, this is the man that could make this happen. The film feels more independent than a studio film, was shot in Indonesia but, saying that, had the backing of Basil Iwanyk (who produced the "John Wick" films) and Jordan Peele (who obviously has a great relationship with Universal who distributed). With this kind of film it depends on what the budget ended up being (i.e. profitability) and it does take into fact the mythoology of India and Sheba which works well. It is not assured that it would work as well if it were made inside the India/Bollywood movie system since it is darker, more outsider-ish and off the beaten path (hence why the movie was shot in Indonesia).
The movie does use alot of tropes and sometimes is way too obvious in both its metaphor, overacting at times and in slight melodrama. However then it does rectify this with some great fight sequences and style. Dev Patel plays The Kid who is both a fighter in the ring but also someone out for revenge. The reasoning is made clear but the approach in many ways seems too convenient. When he makes his movie finally at one point, it is interesting (and part of the hero's journey) as to how the aftermath plays out and who his champions end up being. In a weird sort of way, there is an ode to "The Temple Of Doom" with a different intent. The Monkey Man mythology is of course what Patel focused on and the original idea of the story is by him. The film is ambitious for a first time feature director but obviously goodwill and his approach in "The Green Knight" likely helped. Overall though, having watched the fervor for it at SXSW and that it got a stanidng ovation, it does not live up completely to the hype. It is its own monster and it is good in many ways but not overly so. B
By Tim Wassberg
