Movie Review: Monkey Man

 Michael’s Movie Grade: B

A stylish action thriller. 

This movie is not only an action vehicle for actor Dev Patel, but it also marks his directorial debut. While not perfect, he definitely shows a lot of promise as a director. This is a very stylish film. Though it definitely takes a lot of inspiration from the John Wick movies in this department, this film can easily stand on its own in this department. This is especially seen in the exciting (and very gory) action scenes. These action scenes are what are going to bring audiences to theaters and though they many disappoint some in quantity, they will fully satisfy action fans in quality. These fight scenes are a visual treat especially with the uses of lighting and choreography. Yet these are not the only stylish scenes in this movie. The looks into the darker places in India are very atmospheric. They make one feel more uncomfortable than you might expect from a revenge action flick, but this only makes the whole film work better. The uses of flash backs into the main character’s childhood are also masterfully done. This movie also does a great job at making us connect with our hero. He is a good guy in a world that often seems out to get him. There is no way not to care about this character. Because of this when we get to the action scenes, they are very effective. 

This movie does have its problems though. It's political commentary often comes off as very muddled. Sometimes it is very basic commentary that we have seen many times before and sometimes the delivery of it can make it seem unclear. The pacing can also be off in this movie and between the exciting scenes there are also quite a few that can drag. The main problem though is that all of the supporting characters (Sadly including the villain) are simply bland.

Despite its flaws, this action film has a lot to love about it.