Monkey Man is an energetic tale of vengeance that convinces with intense action scenes and an excellent lead actor with Dev Patel who is also the director and writer of this film. The story revolves around a nameless poor young adult who makes a living as a masked fighter in an underground boxing club before getting a job in the kitchen of a high-end brothel that enables him to pursue a quest of vengeance upon an important political figure.
This film indeed convinces with wonderful settings contrasting the lives of the rich and the poor. The story also points out how the poorest members of society get worse as time progresses while the few rich decadents become even greedier. The action sequences are brutal, fluid and memorable throughout. The acting performances however are also fairly above average for an action movie as especially Dev Patel manages to become one with his role. It's obvious to the viewers that Monkey Man is his brain child and passion project and such dedication and passion deserve to be praised and recognized.
The main issue with Monkey Man is its lack of originality. The idea of an underprivileged individual challenging a saturated elite is the key element of numerous dystopian science-fiction stories and especially comic book, movie and television series Snowpiercer might come to mind in this case. The movie however particularly recalls Indonesian movie franchise The Raid as several action scenes, particular locations and even plot elements are nearly identical. Those references are so obvious that they make it difficult to even accept Monkey Man as a serious project of its own.
Needless to say that anyone reading this review should at first watch The Raid and Snowpiercer before even considering watching this film. If you are willing to watch a movie that obviously rehashes ideas of recent past, then you should be able to enjoy this gripping tale of revenge to the fullest. Cinephiles who desire creative, innovative and unique cinema should however stay away from this film that has gotten massive passionate fan support that is however heavily biased and has more to do with the creator's origins and past reputation than with the originality and quality of the actual final product.
This film indeed convinces with wonderful settings contrasting the lives of the rich and the poor. The story also points out how the poorest members of society get worse as time progresses while the few rich decadents become even greedier. The action sequences are brutal, fluid and memorable throughout. The acting performances however are also fairly above average for an action movie as especially Dev Patel manages to become one with his role. It's obvious to the viewers that Monkey Man is his brain child and passion project and such dedication and passion deserve to be praised and recognized.
The main issue with Monkey Man is its lack of originality. The idea of an underprivileged individual challenging a saturated elite is the key element of numerous dystopian science-fiction stories and especially comic book, movie and television series Snowpiercer might come to mind in this case. The movie however particularly recalls Indonesian movie franchise The Raid as several action scenes, particular locations and even plot elements are nearly identical. Those references are so obvious that they make it difficult to even accept Monkey Man as a serious project of its own.
Needless to say that anyone reading this review should at first watch The Raid and Snowpiercer before even considering watching this film. If you are willing to watch a movie that obviously rehashes ideas of recent past, then you should be able to enjoy this gripping tale of revenge to the fullest. Cinephiles who desire creative, innovative and unique cinema should however stay away from this film that has gotten massive passionate fan support that is however heavily biased and has more to do with the creator's origins and past reputation than with the originality and quality of the actual final product.