Monkey Man - Review

Dev Patel makes his debut as a director in an action extravaganza that picked up Jordan Peele's endorsement. How does it measure up?

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[rohanxdavis]

My wife and I didnt even notice the shaky cam until some reviewers started talking about it online. We disnt mind it at all because it added to the claustrophobic vibe of the film. We had a blast watching it. Will watch again

[owenrohm]

"Killing your darlings" is something Denis Villeneuve says a lot about his films

[jcmitch]

I saw this last night and I was surprised that the shaky cam worked for me. It seemed that the chaotic approach to the cinematography really matched the kinetic raw emotion of the character. This character wasn’t John Wick acting based on the years of experience it took to become the Baba Yaga. This was someone working purely off emotion and rage. The cinematic language seemed to help communicate this while something like John Wick works better with clean cut fight choreography. I think there might have even been a meta point to this near the beginning of the movie when getting the gun Dev Patel’s character is offered the gun of John Wick but turns it down for a revolver which he is told packs a lot of punch but requires you to be up close to the target but I might be reading too much into this.

Thanks for the review Dan! Always love hearing what you think about these new releases.

[JS-ogoj]

I thought the "shaky can" was used well to convey the emotional state of the Kid.

[verlinswarey]

It’s incredible that Jordan Peele has the stature to sway movie marketing just by attaching his name to something. That’s cool!

[professorm]

Man, Netflix turned this down? The company that made Gray Man, Red Notice, and many other crap?

[kevs]

The "Shaky Cam" was a symbolization of his mental state, he didn't have clarity or know what he was doing at first. You will notice in the second half of the movie all the scenes became very clear after he had realized his purpose for doing what he was doing.

[brandonroy]

Oh wow, I expected you to rate it higher. Probably my bias. I saw it last night and while I agree with your criticisms, I feel like there were a ton of positives that weren’t brought up and I would have definitely put it in “It’s Good”.

[jonathanortega]

In Dev Patel interview with Jimmy Fallon he's body was badly hurt from head to toe and he didn't went to the hospital and it was filmed during pandemic

[dougfarrell]

I'm not going to reiterate the comments, but the shakey cam works thematically. I had no problems with the length of the movie. I was drawn in all the way. It's honestly my favorite of the year thus far (I thought Dune Chapter Two was great, but the mythology turns me off, and I really didn't like Hulk Mode in Love Lies Bleeding, even though the movie aside from that was absolutely solid).

[agnibhabanerjee]

The movie does an incredible job using Hindu myths to critique Hindu fundamentalism while staying within the action genre. “You can only deconstruct what you love.”

[montenegroafro]

You give it an ‘It’s Fine’ but I say it’s in the upper ‘It’s Good’ even closer to the ‘It’s Great’ category. The use of shaky cam was actually handled well considering the director wanted to convey the uncomfortably claustrophobic and anxiety-induced effect from the protagonist’s pov. In the first half of the movie, he hadn’t found confidence and strength to fully commit to murdering his enemy, so his mind was scattered and barely escaped the fight. But in the latter half of the movie, he builds his confidence, strength and the conviction to follow through with his plan, so the camera felt more steady and smooth following the action. The character arc and emotional centre of the protagonist was executed so beautifully well…I can’t really relate but there were moments in here I forgot Dev was acting and felt like I was invading someone’s privacy as he dealt with his demons.

[marianm]

I was in the cinema and I was like hmm this could've been 20 minutes shorter.

[charvolth]

Moviebob had some interesting background discussion in his review of the film. His explanation gives you an idea as to why Netflix didn't take it.

[danielchilton]

Netflix didn't release it because it can be seen as critique of India's current right wing government. Pretty embarrassing on their part but a guess a billion odd people is a lot of potential customers.

[jessrl]

Am interested in this one just because it got the Jordan Peele seal of approval. The reviews of "good, but not great" are a little disappointing to see, but I feel like I'll still enjoy this one. If I ever get time to go to the theaters, that is.

[deadnb]

Tbh, while I felt The Beekeeper was dumb and derivative, the action sequences and camerawork was WAY better in that film compared to this movie IMO

[ShieldYoung]

There is Bloodywood track Dana Dan in the movie they are really great Indian Nu Folk metal band 🤘

[PCMonkfish]

Thanks Dan!

The kineticism and dynamism of the camera worked for me but it’s all personal preference I guess.

Great set pieces and didn’t feel the length at all.

Awesome cinematography- undeniably owes a debt to John Wick and an interesting debut from Dev Patel.

Bet he enjoyed being the lead of an action film when he would normally be relegated to a sidekick.

If no one casts you, write it yourself I guess.

I had missed any buzz about this film at all.

[wallhagens]

I’m going! Got to support Dev so he gets another.