If there was an Oscar for the Biggest Miracle of a Production that takes into account its constraints, obstacles, and chaos relative to its budget, you could very well consider the race over with the release of Monkey Man. Ranging from a COVID shutdown to financier back-outs to broken hands and broken cameras, Dev Patel’s action thriller directorial debut was nearly scrapped at multiple points over the last three years. In Patel’s own words, Jordan Peele and his Monkey Paw Productions saved the film, an apt financial investment given the parallels between Peele and Patel starting their respective careers in front of the camera before making the move behind it. While Peele’s directorial move went in the direction of horror, Patel’s platform is full-throttle action. In both regards to navigating production constraints and the action stunts required of Patel’s co-written script, the unwavering commitment of the director-star is the irrefutable engine that makes it all possible.
As a showcase for his dedication to bringing the multi-year passion project to life, the beating heart lies in his portrayal of the unnamed protagonist, “Kid,” whose quest for vengeance comes at the crossroads of sociopolitical inequalities and personal revenge. It’s clear that Patel’s love for the genre, its multicultural history, and visible influences (John Wick, The Raid, and Bollywood action films) shines through in the outsized ambition on display by taking on a highly kinetic, stunt-heavy thrill ride. Rather than treading more familiar territory with a mid-budget drama akin to many of the acting roles Patel has accumulated in his career, Monkey Man pushes the boundaries of its $10 million budget narratively and choreographically to an impressive degree.
Many years after the violent murder of his mother at the hands of police chief Rana (Sikander Kher), Kid is determined to even the score. Unable to pull himself out of this cycle of pain, he continues to make pain a palpable component of his daily life by selling out his own body as a human punching bag for hire in the shady fight ring led by the all-too-sleazy and expressively theatrical Tiger (Sharlto Copley). As Kid’s hero’s journey takes shape, the film’s set pieces inside the ring begin to extend out into the city’s elite social circles with increasing scale, scope, and ultraviolent magnitude.
What unfolds for the audience through the eyes of Kid is a narrative ethos that intertwines Hindu mythology with sociopolitical dynamics. Unfortunately, while the punches are primed with power and the mythos evokes a spirituality not commonly found in this type of genre film, the secondary social commentary stumbles into two-dimensional ambiguity.
For the impressive heights the production value can reach given the degree of on-set improvisation, its story structure and narrative arc reveal the limitations of a script that fails to match its ambition. Patel’s “Yatana” is geographically vague, and intentionally emblematic of Mumbai, but also many other locales in modern India where cyclical poverty overwhelms social mobility. This worldbuilding visually maps a richly textured urban fabric which serves as the setting for Kid’s campaign through the social and political hierarchies stained by economic disparity and funded by human trafficking. Despite this depth that challenges socioeconomic realities, the intricacies of its fictitious setting are inconsistently framed and incongruous with its hero’s moral code in a way that can’t help but communicate an ethic of artificial surface treatment. Even with glimpses of thematic depth, particularly the inclusion of Alpha (Vipin Sharma) and the hijra community, Monkey Man struggles to fully integrate these elements into its protagonist’s journey which is principally fueled by the loss of his mother, a character not seen on screen until the final act.
This structural decision in the script adds a level of personal intimacy for Patel the character, yet misaligns with societal-level inequities and abuses that Patel the director seems interested in navigating. Grappling with complex social issues including India’s caste system and Hindu far-right nationalism, the rapid-fire pacing and visual structure, while effective in action sequences, hinder deeper evaluation. The film’s core villains Baba Shakti (Makrand Deshpande), Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar), and Rana hold religious fervor, sex trafficking and occupational subjugation, and a tyrannical police force, respectively, as their keys to denying social mobility. By reducing the consequences of their societal enslavement to Crazy-88 style goon killing sprees that continue the cycle of violence instituted by the very people Kid aims to dethrone, one begins to wonder what direction the moral compass lies.
At the core of the journey, however, Patel’s domineering, yet underdog physicality reveals a vulnerability that has always served his characters well but is particularly striking in his most physically demanding role yet. For as John Wick-like as Kid sees himself become by the end of the film, the full weight of the physical toll on his body can be felt with each ensuing hit. In treating this development of his self-taught combat training as an arc in itself, a gritty realism is established that is further highlighted by an almost dizzying array of GoPro’s, iPhones, and every mobile lens in between that was handled by the most fit and agile of camera operators. In capturing Patel as an actor, there’s an undeniable determination and ferocity. But as his journey continues, the creativity embedded in many of the kill sequences gives way to uninspired brute force, a fitting description for not only Kid’s physical prowess but also the story arc as a whole.
Monkey Man explores revenge and the cyclical nature of violence in a story that is not at all unfamiliar. Kid’s motivations are personal, and the film’s cultural immersion lends a stylistically fresh glance at the hero’s journey in the paradigm of man against society. Kid’s connection to the larger social issues, however, feels tenuous and disjointed. Amidst its narrative shortcomings, Monkey Man shines brightest in its quieter moments of introspection, as Patel’s character grapples with the weight of his past and the complexities of his present. It is in these moments of vulnerability that the film comes alive, allowing for greater introspection on identity and purpose in a society engrained with socioeconomic disparities.
The film’s realization is a testament to Dev Patel’s artistic ambition and creative vision, a bold action vehicle with ambitions beyond its simple revenge-driven hero’s journey plot. While Patel has undoubtedly proven his chops on both sides of the camera, the cracks in the seams of a fractured production are simultaneously visible in the lack of a robust alignment between individual character motivation and urban-scale consequences. In scratching the ever-present audience itch for engrossing fights and eye-popping action, Monkey Man is an overwhelming success. In coalescing with its larger social commentary, too many punches are unfortunately pulled.
Review Courtesy of Danny Jarabek
Feature Image Credit to Universal Pictures via Cosmopolitan