Are you ready for a revenge tale with violent outbursts committed by a charismatic drifter with a goatee, maybe involving a dog? 

Watch John Wick. It’s amazing. 

But Monkey Man is fun, too. Maybe “Indian John Wick” is unfairly reductionary, but it’s a decent descriptor for Monkey Man. It’s about a man’s quest for revenge and is stylish with fantastic choreography. It’s a compliment. 

On the face of it, Dev Patel’s Monkey Man achieves as much fun and frivolity as its Western counterpart. But don’t dive too deep, though, because that’s where the frayed edges start to peel away to reveal a narrative soup. 

Story

After his mother is killed in a conspiracy involving corrupt cops and a religious organization, Bobby embarks on a mission of revenge, striving to put right what once went wrong. His journey begins with him rising up the ranks of a swanky club, trying to get close to the assholes who were responsible for his mother’s death. 

But things aren’t all plain sailing (otherwise, it would have been a very short film), taking him through the very heart of pressing political issues facing modern India, including the caste system, transphobia and ultra-nationalism. It’s heavy stuff! 

Of course, there’s the Monkey of it all. Bobby is inspired by the Hindu story of Hanuman (the titular Monkey Man) to rise up for the people, taking on its God-like oppressors. 

And then there’s fighting and killing, which is a lot less nuanced. 

The Good

Where Monkey Man excels is in its violence. There’s a reason why I compared it to John Wick: its terrifically choreographed fight scenes. From minute one, when Bobby is competing in underground fights wearing his monkey mask, it feels like a dance, a gory waltz of death, but a dance nonetheless. I didn’t always appreciate the lengths Bobby takes to survive, but I can understand that the life-and-death nature of his situation can cause ugly sh*t to go down.

Dev Patel did an excellent job in his directorial debut, specifically with his cinematography. There are a ton of gorgeous shots like the one above, utilizing reflections and amazing lighting to exude a very cool aura for the protagonist. Maybe sometimes it was noticeably too try-hard, but generally, it was great.

The film was acted terrifically. Vipin Sharma as Alpha, the leader of a trans community shunned from public life, portrayed his character with sadness and dignity. Sobhita Dhulipala, as Bobby’s sort-of love interest and sex worker, Sita, acted numbly but showed the faint hope Bobby represented for her. And Shalto Copley’s pit-boss character Tiger was a fun maniac. All of their performances were of a higher quality than I was expecting.

The Not So Good

So, here is where things get interesting. Although I enjoyed this movie whilst I was watching it, when I recounted the events, there was so much that didn’t make any sense within the narrative. 

For example, when Bobby has to regroup and recuperate in a trans commune after getting the crap kicked out of him, he has some kind of training montage where he hits an equivalent to a punching bag made out of rice grains rhythmically to the sound of drums. After this, he’s the best fighter in the world. HOW DID THAT IMPROVE HIS ABILITIES? It’s like he went through the Parappa the Rapper school of martial arts and came out like Bruce Lee!

The first half hour establishes Bobby’s friend Alphonso (Pitobash). He even flees with Bobby when things go awry because they’re so tight. Then his character is basically dropped for the rest of the film, bar a couple of inconsequential frames. 

And don’t get me started on the monkey mask! It’s barely worn!

This film was too ambitious. For a two-hour movie, there were too many huge political issues it was trying to tackle. It touches on the treatment of LBGTQ+ in India. It tries to tackle the caste system and the inequality of the haves and have-nots. The corruption of the police, right-wing nationalism, dangerous religious leaders, and the illegal seizure of sovereign land are all mixed in this big pot of themes. Finally, trying to link it all back to the story of Hanuman on the holy day of Diwali! 

It’s a bit much, like Patel thought this was his one and only shot at directing a culturally significant blockbuster, and he attempted to cram everything he wanted to say into one tight package. It didn’t quite work as well as it could.

Summary

Monkey Man, the ambitious directorial debut from Dev Patel, is an enjoyable movie to lose yourself in. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the rich visuals and the danse macabre. However, it’s also a tin of sardines: too many strong topics packed into a small package. As a result, the narrative gets muddy, and the details do not add up to what was delivered. 

Enjoy it for what it is: a stylish action movie with fantastic fight choreography and bloody brutal death scenes. 

Don’t do a retrospective like I did, and you’ll have a great time.