Dev Patel Pummels His Way Into Action Movie History In 'Monkey Man'

By the powers of “John Wick,” “Oldboy,” and Sam Raimi, I conjure thee, “Monkey Man!”

Yet Dev Patel, who stars as well as taking on co-writing and directing duties, isn't one to be content with merely emulating his influences, opting instead to fuel “Monkey Man” with the insane frenetic energy of a student intent on surpassing the most obvious master by name-dropping the Keanu Reeves action franchise early on before quickly coming into his own. 

Yes, there’s a lot that’s familiar, even if the setting (an Indonesia locale that acts as a thinly disguised Mumbai stand-in) and its resulting trappings are likely less so to a substantial portion of American audiences. Dev Patel is the nameless protagonist on a quest for revenge against the corrupt authorities who robbed him of his mother and idyllic childhood in the shimmering green of their verdant forest home that seemed to both shelter and shine for them…at least until the blood and the bullets.

Like the grown man Patel manages to become, we subsist on the bare bones of a backstory that’s more than enough to give us the sense that those in the upper echelons of the city he literally battles his way through in the grime and dirt of an underground fight club are about to get their just desserts. It’s certainly easy to sympathize with the various denizens of this world who are desperately grasping for anything the upper class are cruelly dangling in front of them, not to mention the corrupt authorities who enable it all so they can continue to recline beside them.

Universal Studios

Patel’s enthusiasm is infectious, and his gleeful intensity is well matched to the political commentary, with a fantasy rooted in the wistful hope that the man who has nothing to lose will be fueled by justice. That these moving parts coalesce so well is what ultimately elevates “Monkey Man,” which is undoubtedly what attracted the notice of no less than Jordan Peele, who is a producer. 

By the time the deceptively calm, hellishly redlit oases of the rich are invaded with a bloody creativity not seen since “The Raid,” the blood and bodies are flying with spectacular intensity. Why not? They’re fueled by a creator who has clearly been longing to be let off the leash after years of paying his dues, with spiritual overtures that are uninterested in the Westerners who want comfort rather than the truths they claim to seek, as if absolute truths were a possibility that could actually be watered down into another commodity at their demand.

It’s enough to make one wonder if Patel could be the true heir to the “Evil Dead” franchise.

Grade: A-