Normally I don’t bring up the budget of a film, but I’m making a major exception for Monkey Man. Supposedly it cost Dev Patel and his producers $10 million to make the movie. This is startling since the movie looks and feels better than several action films that have cost between $100 million to $200 million. This is a high-octane revenge flick that doesn’t ease off the gas. You might remember Dev Patel as the contestant in the Oscar winning Best Picture Slumdog Millionaire. This time, he’s doing more than answering questions in a cushy TV studio in India. Monkey Man is journey into a devious and heartless part of India.
Kid (Dev Patel) is up to something. At night he wears a monkey mask and battles in an underground fight club against other colorful characters that don’t mind getting bloody. By day, he has been staking out a club run by Queenie Kapoor (Chargesheet: The Shuttlecock Murder‘s Ashwini Kalseka). He uses his connections to come up with a great way for her to owe him a favor that leads to a low-level flunky position in her club’s kitchen. While doing the dirty work, he gets tight with Alphonso (Million Dollar Arm‘s Pitobash), a man who dreams of one day partying with the famous clients that he serves. The Kid brings his co-worker to the fight club and gives him an inside betting tip. This eventually gets Kid a promotion to waiter in the club’s VIP room. This is where the real partying takes place. This is also where the Kid’s two targets enjoy the atmosphere. Rana Singh (Sense8‘s Sikandar Kher) is a police chief who does the dirty work for spiritual leader Baba Shakti (Hoga Terra Baap‘s Makarand Deshpande). The Kid has a true reason for wanting vengeance on these two men and he’s not going to back down.
Monkey Man was originally picked up by Netflix. The streamer supposedly wasn’t sure what to do with the film since it wasn’t a pure John Wick clone. There’s a lot going on besides Dev Patel proving he’s an action star and director. We’re given a sense of Indian spirituality with the story of Hanuman, the monkey God. There’s caste system on display with the poor people hustling on the streets as the Indian elite are in a penthouse nightclub snorting lines off the legs of hookers. Jordan Peele (Get Out) saw the movie and brought it to Universal for a theatrical release. This is a film that demands a big screen experience. If Netflix had put it on their streaming site, it wouldn’t have been able to stand out and would have vanished in the vortex with that Ryan Reynolds action film. Monkey Man received a better fate by playing movie theaters and now receiving a physical media release.
You do want to get the 4K UHD version to appreciate all the dynamics on the screen. The movie is pure kinetic excitement. The fight sequences in the underground fight club, a bathroom and the big finale in the posh nightclub will have you rewinding to see how Dev pulled off the moves. The chase sequence involving the auto rickshaw will have you gnashing your molars in fear. The part of the film where he has to get himself back into shape with a hijra tabla playing will get a touch inspiring. The film delivers what you demand from a major Hollywood production on a fraction of the budget while never forgetting it’s Indian setting. Monkey Man really shows that Dev Patel is a force on both side of the camera.
The Video is 2.39:1 anamorphic. The 4K UHD transfer makes the film look magnificent. The textures and colors of the locations pop on the screen. The Audio is Dolby Atmos. There’s also Dolby TrueHD 7.1 in English and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 in French. The sound on the film is impressive when the fights go out of control. A descriptive audio track is also included. The subtitles are in English and French.
Audio Commentary with Dev Patel, producers Jomon Thomas & Sam Sahni and co-producer Raghuvir Joshi. They discuss how they had to quarantine with all the extras when they shot in Indonesia. They have plenty of tales including how on the first day of shooting, the First Assistant Director went to the bathroom and never came back. Dev explains why his character is covered in white flour in the fight scenes.
Alternate Opening (3:58) starts with the Kid being interviewed by a social worker. He is still banged up. He discovers a picture book about the Mighty Hanuman. The social worker gives the tale of the Monkey God.
Alternate Ending (2:45) is a rather elaborate tracking shot through the devastation.
Deleted/Extended Scenes (22:34) has six longer scenes. They are worth watching as they add to the film although if included would have messed a bit with the pacing.
A Labor of Love (8:44) has Dev Patel talk about how the story has been within him for eight years. He didn’t intend to direct at first. They shot the film during the pandemic. They moved from India to Indonesia. They had to dress up the neighbors to look more like India.
Monkey Man of Action (8:35) digs into how Dev Patel got into the fight scenes while maintaining the culture. They found their choreographer via watching a YouTube video. We get sense of how the cameraman was part of the fight scenes.
Fateful Encounters (7:21) has the actors discuss how they got into their characters.
Roots Exposed (3:02) talks about Hanuman. Dev Patel talks about getting into his cultural heritage in the movie.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment presents Monkey Man. Directed by Dev Patel. Screenplay by Dev Patel, Paul Angunawela & John Collee. Starring Dev Patel, Jatin Malik, Pitobash, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Makarand Deshpande, Ashwini Kalsekar, Vipin Sharma, Adithi Kalkunte, Sharlto Copley & Zakir Hussain. Running Time: 122 minutes. Boxset Contents: 1 4K UHD disc, 1 Blu-ray disc and a streaming code. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: June 25, 2024.
