“Only God can forgive you now.” These words uttered by the protagonist to the main antagonist of “Monkey Man” perfectly sum up the grim atmosphere that is apparent throughout the film’s runtime. Not only that, it also perfectly encapsulates the heavily religious undertones that are shown in the examination of Indian culture present throughout the feature. These aspects, paired with the excellently choreographed action, make for an entertaining watch that will have most interested in looking out for whatever future projects Dev Patel, star actor, writer and director of this film, chooses to partake in.
However, the film was not all that memorable due to an unoriginal story with lackluster villains and a poorly executed backstory. At first sight, “Monkey Man” seems to be able to handle its goals relatively well as it presents the audience with an intriguing commentary on the sociopolitical stasis of India and how their government can use religion as an excuse to take over the homes of innocent people. However, commentary can only be as interesting as the characters used to enforce it, and unfortunately, this film is unimaginative when it comes to its characters. None of them are memorable and are just cardboard cutouts of the cliched hero’s journey formula.
The film constantly keeps reminding the audience of the protagonist’s backstory, which at first properly gains sympathy, but the more it is shown, the more bland the story seems to get. The villains do not have much to offer either, as they just come off as the usual bad government cliche without adding anything new or interesting to it, despite the religious aspect of Indian politics that could have made these villains more interesting and unique.
In the end, most people will end up enjoying the film for its incredible choreography and editing that truly demonstrate how dirty and grim both the environment and the actions portrayed are. Despite the unrealistic rate at which characters survive blows from fists and the clear influence that the John Wick franchise had on the look and feel of this film, it still has to be appreciated when a director goes out of his way to have his action look and feel as grim and harsh as possible. To that extent, the film succeeds wonderfully, causing the audience to endure every blow and punch shown on screen. Dev Patel walked away from shooting his debut with many broken bones and infections, and that damage is clear on screen, making the action feel much more effective. So, despite the film’s problems with its story, its cinematography and action will be worth watching for most audiences.
