With the staying power of late properties in the action genre, such as Fast and Furious, Bad Boys, and even the younger John Wick, it can draw worry from everyday audience members where the industry can go if it does not show an interest to sustain the newcomers. With stories of Disney strong arming theater chains to show their films over the dwarfed competition, it feels as an industry that has cannibalized itself. However, in the past few years there have been rising stars given a stage in nationwide theater distribution, with Monkey Man being the next. And if this film shows signs of the future, then I’m happy to see what comes next.

 

Dev Patel (the searing heart throb according to my sibling) of Slumdog Millionaire and Green Knight fame, makes his directorial debut splash into the action thriller arena. Not only directing but starring as well. One can only imagine what the struggles can entail for such an endeavor, yet one need not speculate given Patel’s public comments, detailing broken bones, illness, and sporadic funding that scarcely saw the film off the ground. Despite all that, the passion and perseverance bleeds through into the work and shows the better for it.

 

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Money Man is a revenge tale. One that many have at least heard of before. The protagonist has a tragic past, and in this moment in time he gets the chance to avenge those whom he has lost, pummeling through waves of enemies before he gets to the big bad. You have likely seen it before, and despite the film’s semblance to its contemporaries in story, it does maintain its own identity with a vibrant world full of texture with equally vibrant side characters filling the alleyways and seedy underbellies. The beginning of the films starts off slow in comparison to other action films of today.  We follow the main character, the Kid, grow up and wander the underground scene, fighting as a fall guy in dirty boxing ring.

 

 

During the opening act we slowly discover who he is and what exactly it is he wants. This slow build familiarizes us with this new world and its characters. And then things go wrong. While the tempo does pick up, the film does struggle at times with its pacing, particularly in the third quarter of the film where things significantly slow down for a long stretch. Despite that, it is greatly elevated by its world and setting with a heavily imbued culture and singular identity that sets it apart from others of its genre. Its singularly identity may in fact lend to some controversy with strong allusions to class and political struggle in the nation with cut aways to real life footage, as well as scenes with strong anarchist imagery, such as a character rising to the high echelons of a club and slaughtering their enemies with a sickle as their blood splatters onto portraits of Indian aristocracy.

 

 

Beyond the controversy of such sections, the action, choreography, and photography of the film are very well done, with some staggers scattered throughout. Neon lights and omniscient camera work winding through settings as the protagonist battles in tightly cramped passageways feels like a trademark to the genre today, even with some calling attention the semblance to John Wick. Although Dave Patel encourages people to look at other Asian and Indian works instead, the similarity is there, at times almost asking the viewer to see the resemblance with one side character name dropping the title as he encourages the sale of a gun. Beyond that, the film does a good job in its set pieces. Impacts and punches feel weighty for the most part, except for a few glaring ones at the end of the first act. The photography was playful and vibrant, except for distractingly grainy nighttime exterior shots in the middle of the film.

 

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Throughout its inception and creation, Monkey Man has had an uphill battle even before it reached the main sage with other heavy hitters in the national box office arena. Yet once it got in, it kept standing. With the vibrant world and fun set pieces many viewers will get wrapped in and captured by the design and set pieces. However, even without knowledge of the production woes, viewers may notice the odd shot here and there, the odd punch lacking weight, and the slow pace that shows it head in the latter half of the film. All in all however, I’d want this movie fighting in my corner.

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