‘Blessings from my mother...’
People love to see one man hellbent on revenge taking out a bunch of non-descript bad guys. Punching. Kicking. People love that shit. I love it… sometimes. Monkey Man fits snugly in the same revenge genre as Taken, John Wick and Nobody. At its best, it recalls some of the finer moments of the John Wick franchise (Wick is even name-checked during the film) but at its worst, it is self-indulgent and dull…
Dev Patel is the eponymous monkey man, so named because he wears a monkey mask while competing in underground fighting bouts. As a child his village was burnt to the ground and his family killed and so now he needs two hours of punching and kicking to get it out of his system.
This is clearly a passion project for Patel (he also directs and shares writing duties with Paul Angunawela and John Collee), and his performance here is excellent (if monosyllabic). He brings a steely determination to the monkey man that makes his seemingly endless quest for revenge all the more intense. Elsewhere, it’s always a pleasure to see Sharlto Copley in anything and he delivers again here as the unscrupulous organiser of an underground fighting ring.
Despite the references to other revenge movies, Monkey Man most reminded me of the Sega Mega Drive classic Streets of Rage. The titular monkey man must rise through the ‘levels’ of the organised crime ring, defeating tougher and tougher opponents, until finally facing the ultimate test. It’s mostly compelling stuff, particularly the long scene that involves an axe fight, but it’s also repetitive and occasionally generic.
Monkey Man has some great moments and succeeds in carving out a distinct identity in a crowded field but it is also too long and too ponderous in the film’s forgettable middle act – a decent if forgettable action flick.
