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Dev Patel does not back down from a fight. While he may become an action star in his directorial debut MONKEY MAN the film itself has been a labor of love and kicking doors down for many years for Patel. After many years in the making including being dropped by Netflix and thankfully picked up by Jordan Peele’s Monkey Paw Productions for a full theatrical release MONKEY MAN made its world premiere at the South by South West festival and to say it blew the roof off the Paramount Theater is an understatement. The film is not just a testament to Patel’s ambition as a first time director but also the love and respect he has for the action genre in a time when not too many (and especially American studios) are treating action films with the dignity they deserve. Patel in introducing the film stated that this was born out of his love for Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, The Raid films, 70’s action Bollywood films and yes even a little John Wick. It’s clear within the first few minutes this love is sprinkled everywhere but what is even better is that Patel brings a humanity and social commentary of a nation of underdogs who never back down to tyranny. Action movies may be a dime a dozen as of lately but MONKEY MAN is both a throwback to the 70’s Kung Fu and exploitation films you love while also displaying the humanity in a first time filmmaker who has a ton to say and needs to go full beast mode to express it.

Kid (Dev Patel) just keeps getting the shit beat out of him. A scrawny man in a fighting ring against a giant Kid dons a monkey mask to hide both his identity and find some connection to his past. You see when Kid isn’t getting pummeled to a crips he is remembering the village he came from and more importantly his mother (Adithi Kalkunte) who has raised him on the stories and teachings of their Hindu Gods. One that sticks out most to Kid is Hanuman who led the monkey army. Told through triply almost acid like flashbacks it quickly becomes apparent Kid’s mother was murdered and Kid has been on a long yet unsuccessful revenge on the police chief Rana (Sikandar Kher). Its early portions whip us through these boxing fights as well the streets of a fictional urban India town with the whiplash energy from (no pun intended “Whiplash” DP Sharone Meir. Kid’s city feels both beautiful and destructive in its neon lighting and grimy images that shoot up from the street forcing us to acknowledge the highly upper class that reigns above all with little to no mercy. Kid has to find his way to the top which means getting a job at the exclusive night club Kings run by a vicious manager Queenie (a hysterical and deadly Ashwini Kalsekar). With the film’s own “started from the bottom now we’re here” energy Kid quickly moves up from dishwasher to waiter in the VIP lounge do to his ability to sell himself as the man who will do the jobs nobody wants to do. These moments may feel familiar but are strengthened by Patel’s charisma as a performer as well as his ability as a director to throw everything into these moments from hip hop Bollywood soundtracks to forcing the camera to basically do a line of cocaine as it glides along with one of the villains as he snorts it off a knife. Hell even metal heads get a moment of appreciation with an awe inspiring use of a Bloodywood song. It’s moments that remind you both how nonsensical and badass action movies can be without ever belittling themselves or the audience.

What MONKEY MAN may have going for it best (amongst a pile of greatness) is its throwback to letting to letting its lead truly lose a fight. Sure Ethan Hunt and John Wick get their ass handed to them but it’s always at the immediate expense of someone else. Here MONKEY MAN sees itself as a film indebted to those where our hero must not only find themselves but do so after a big beat down. The film uses this and blends it with its ongoing theme of outcasts having Kid be guided by Alpha (Vipin Sharma) and a group of Hijra who understand that the God Shiva is made of half man half woman. And much like Kid needs to be their full and true self to succeed. It is here where MONKEY MAN both brings back the awesome training montage and delivers a whole new way for a modern audience to see their hero rise. Patel may throw everything but the kitchen sink in when channeling several genres but it’s a welcomed attempt that delivers in every sense. It’s a moment that also feels deeply personal to Patel who has been open about struggling with his identity as a man raised by Gujarat Indian parents in London. He has felt like a man without a home and these training sequences involving reconnecting with Hindu faith well also bringing up the importance of how much of India is about the under seen people working day and night. This humility which includes even allowing Alpha and their village to take front and center for some moments shows a generosity of a director who knows none of this happens without help.

MONKEY MAN at the end of the day though is an all out carnage action ride and in that Patel has shown where the genre can be brought back for a kick ass time. Even before we get to that big final shootouts (or several of them) we are gifted with another return at the ring. Upping its game by casting Sharlto Cooley who is having a blast as the ringmaster is bewildered with the audience when the monkey man returns. Not to mention with the help of a great costume department has delivered us one of the coolest looking movie masks in forever. A monkey mask but terrifying and as gnarly as something you’d expect to see in a robbing a bank in a Michael Mann film. Seeing Patel get to go full animal in the ring is just one of the many pump yourself up moments and this is before we get back to Kid’s second chance at revenge. The films chaotic energy of the first half is meant for a man who can’t win to save his life, but that second half much like these famous Rocky moments are a self assured man who has found his purpose as well as new found fighting skills that could kick you into yesteryear. The choreography slows down the camera work and allows us to see with wide shots every move Patel is able to deliver along with an insanely talented stunt crew doing everything from taking champagne bottles to the eye to being blown up by firecrackers. Also if there’s ever a movie that needed an on set dentist it’s this one. Seriously the way Patel uses his teeth to fight it has to beg the question if he lost a crowning or two.

MONKEY MAN may be the type of film that’s begging to be seen with a big audience but what works best is knowing that this will most likely hold up even more on repeat watching and becomes one of those films you used to sneak downstairs late at night to watch. Is this Patel’s own “Enter the Dragon” ? Sure, but at the same time how about it’s somebody else’s first MONKEY MAN. A film that gets any kid into Tae Kwan Do, or ignite their own love for a genre that can be so chaotically beautiful. It’s a film that wants to inspire as much as it wants to entertain. Bruce Lee continues to inspire, John Wick is becoming an action character legend so now is the perfect time for another hero to rise. Dev Patel is that hero. The Monkey Man to save the genre and us all.

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MONKEY MAN PREMIERED AT THE SOUTH BY SOUTH WEST FILM FESTIVAL. IT WILL BE RELEASED IN THEATERS APRIL 5