Dev Patel is probably one of the most likeable actors out there and someone extremely easy to root for. I'm happy to say his directorial debut is certainly an impressive one; an ode to Western and East Asian action flicks with A LOT of Indian flair. Monkey Man isn't afraid to delve into the seedy underbelly of the world's most populous country, even if it's a bit thin on exactly what's going on (more on that later). I liked that dark and gritty vibe quite a lot.
Cinematographically, this translates to some very intense and brutal action scenes, with a couple of really stand out sequences (the kitchen fight sticks out to me). I've been told time and time again how violent and gory this movie is, but to be honest, I've seen far bloodier, even from India. Patel certainly gets his butt kicked and kicks a lot of butts though; this is not a John Wick style superhuman facing off against nameless thugs.
I also really liked the editing and needle drops in this movie; many of which felt so appropriate and elevated a lot of scenes. I didn't expect to hear 151 Rum by Jid in a movie set in India, and now that I have, I can't believe it hadn't been done before. The music is just excellent in this film overall.
Unfortunately, while I think Patel does a great job as our nameless protagonist and is clearly physically quite talented, the excess of shaky cam definitely bothered me and made it hard to understand what was going on a lot of the time. Maybe it was a budgetary issue and it certainly had to do with the overall "vibe" of the film, but it was quite distracting.
I also felt that despite this film being 2 hours long, the plot was a little too thin for my liking. Characters you hope to see a bit more (Alphonso being probably the first to come to mind) just sort of disappear into the background and while we get bits and pieces of the larger story at work, I wish we could've leaned even more into that.
For those unfamiliar, this film does not provide a flattering view of the Indian government and clearly takes a stance against the current Modi administration and his BJP party, widely characterized as a "right wing, Hindu nationalist" party. While I think the film wisely chose not to take the deep dive into that, I think some broader context as to what actually happened and why for the inciting incident would've been helpful. It kind of irks me when films want to be political, but then draw back at the last second.
Overall, I liked Monkey Man, but as someone who's seen many action films from India, I can't say it blew my mind. I wish there were some elements emphasized a bit more, I wish the plot was a bit thicker, and the cinematography more professional. But, Patel's debut is a fine one and I only think he can improve from here.
Cinematographically, this translates to some very intense and brutal action scenes, with a couple of really stand out sequences (the kitchen fight sticks out to me). I've been told time and time again how violent and gory this movie is, but to be honest, I've seen far bloodier, even from India. Patel certainly gets his butt kicked and kicks a lot of butts though; this is not a John Wick style superhuman facing off against nameless thugs.
I also really liked the editing and needle drops in this movie; many of which felt so appropriate and elevated a lot of scenes. I didn't expect to hear 151 Rum by Jid in a movie set in India, and now that I have, I can't believe it hadn't been done before. The music is just excellent in this film overall.
Unfortunately, while I think Patel does a great job as our nameless protagonist and is clearly physically quite talented, the excess of shaky cam definitely bothered me and made it hard to understand what was going on a lot of the time. Maybe it was a budgetary issue and it certainly had to do with the overall "vibe" of the film, but it was quite distracting.
I also felt that despite this film being 2 hours long, the plot was a little too thin for my liking. Characters you hope to see a bit more (Alphonso being probably the first to come to mind) just sort of disappear into the background and while we get bits and pieces of the larger story at work, I wish we could've leaned even more into that.
For those unfamiliar, this film does not provide a flattering view of the Indian government and clearly takes a stance against the current Modi administration and his BJP party, widely characterized as a "right wing, Hindu nationalist" party. While I think the film wisely chose not to take the deep dive into that, I think some broader context as to what actually happened and why for the inciting incident would've been helpful. It kind of irks me when films want to be political, but then draw back at the last second.
Overall, I liked Monkey Man, but as someone who's seen many action films from India, I can't say it blew my mind. I wish there were some elements emphasized a bit more, I wish the plot was a bit thicker, and the cinematography more professional. But, Patel's debut is a fine one and I only think he can improve from here.