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Go behind the scenes of Monkey Man with director and star Dev Patel
Featurette: Universal Pictures

Monkey Man
Directed by Dev Patel
Rated R
Avenged 5 April 2024
#MonkeyManMovie

Dev Patel’s ultra-violent directorial debut is striking, but also a little derivative.

Hanuman

Granted, the Hindu story of Hanuman, or Monkey Man, goes back centuries — millennia — and it’s been the source of inspiration for incalculable artists and storytellers. Hanuman is a Hindu deity of courage and strength and discipline. So, it becomes a sort of chicken-and-egg argument to observe how Monkey Man is derivative of movies that have preceded it while also themselves likely being inspired by Hanuman and other Hindu deities.

Nonetheless, it’s rather striking to note how Monkey Man follows a lot of the story beats and narrative stylings of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. There are flashbacks to the anonymous protagonist’s childhood. His mother teaching him about Hanuman and inspiring him to feel a sense of wonder about the world is similar in tone and style to Bruce Wayne recalling interactions with his father, Thomas. There are also flashbacks to the protagonist’s mother’s barbaric demise as witnessed by the young boy.

There’s also a magical flower he must inhale as part of his training to become a... well... a dark knight.

Anonymous protagonist. That was an interesting trick Nolan pulled off exquisitely in Tenet.

In this case, the anonymous protagonist is Dev Patel’s character, who — as a sort of personal inside joke — names himself after a canister of cleaning detergent. But he’s also referred to as Kid.

He blames the bleach for the horrible scars on his hands. But their origins are far more tragic.

Turbo Tuk-Tuk

It takes a while to tie Kid’s back story into his quest for vengeance. The moments with his mom are nice, but there isn’t a strong emotional core until the movie is pretty far along. Having a more meaningful connection earlier could’ve helped.

Ultimately, Monkey Man is a revenge tale not unlike John Wick. In this case, it’s the kind of revenge that’s decades in the making as the hero puts himself through the wringer. He throws himself into the ring of mixed martial arts wearing a monkey mask, but his goal is not to win. He fights to feel the pain. Eventually, his new yogi, Alpha (Vipin Sharma), retrains him to fight with purpose before inserting himself into the hornet’s nest of his enemies.

That purpose gains greater significance, moving beyond Kid’s desire to avenge his mother’s murder and extend to represent the underserved and maligned in society, the outcasts and minorities who’ve been exploited and displaced.

At one point, while Kid shops for a budget-friendly gun, he’s asked, “Do you like John Wick?”

Well, of course he does. Who doesn’t? (And it’s worth nothing stuntman and John Wick director Chad Stahelski gets a “thank you” in the end credits.)

Monkey Man most certainly strives to be on par with John Wick. There’s even a dog who aids and abets Kid.

Monkey Man is loaded with action and lots of violence. A failed assassination attempt leads to a wild action sequence involving guns and an axe. It can be brutal. It’s often very stylish. Throw in fights set against background music such as dance versions of Roxanne and Believe and Monkey Man throws more of that Wick vibe.

Deep Roots

The aspiration is there, but Monkey Man doesn’t quite reach to the same insane level of immaculate mayhem find in the Wick series.

The shortcomings need to be given some perspective, however.

Monkey Man is Dev Patel’s directorial debut. The guy’s come a long way since Slumdog Millionaire and his first time at the helm is most certainly an impressive feat. His is a talent worth looking out for in the future and it’ll be exciting to see where he goes next.

As Kid finally leaves his childhood pain in his past and begins to make space for new life, Monkey Man itself becomes a new source of inspiration, carrying on the tradition of its source material.

• Originally published at MovieHabit.com.