Monkey Man-Dev Patel
The overly saturated market of comic book films and John Wick/Liam Neeson knockoffs made me want to dismiss Dev Patel's "Monkey Man" when the snippet promos came across YouTube, IMDB, and social media outlets.
As a youth, the first rated R movie I ever saw was "Showdown In Little Tokyo". It was also the first time I had ever seen a naked woman on screen. It was everything forbidden that a kid could want to see that would infuriate his parents had they ever found out he saw it. Cursing, sex, violence, guns, drugs, shanks, executions, gore, and explosions. I think I was 8 years old at the time and from henceforth that was the barometer by which I judged any film. Basically, if it failed to measure up to the level of carnage depicted in Showdown, then it sucked.
Nowadays, I only wish that my standards were set so low, as the action films that are released are much like their oft-discarded brethren horror films in which they are barely worth a dime a dozen. Or, as of late, a dime about a thousand. They are the two genres that I have endeared to from my youth but have—since that time—ultimately failed to deliver anything noteworthy. The catalogs have become so muddled with cash grabs and hot garbage lately that I just shake my head in disappointment at what the market has devolved into.
In this particular review, though, I will focus on Action.
Last year I saw three action films in the theater: All's Quiet on The Western Front, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, and Top Gun: Maverick. All's Quiet I liked. Operation Fortune was awful. And Top Gun was just so-so to me. Nothing worth meriting a repeat watch.
*Maybe, All's Quiet, but it's not a film that would stop me in my channel surfing to relive it.*
And since the late 90's there are only two action films that stick out in my mind as groundbreaking: The Raid: Redemption and Dredd. I'm sure I could think of more if I sat down and thought about it, but the fact that nothing at the moment comes to mind is a testament to how shallow the pool of rich action filmmaking has been. John Wick is OK. So is Taken. But compared to Point Break and Next of Kin...
Superhero films I don't even bother with.
The timelines are so diluted with alternate takes and mulligans that I doubt even the most ardent of MC & DC historians could piece together which alternate galaxies the reiterations belong to anymore. And even before the big bang explosion of MC & DC character films, I still only liked two: The Dark Knight Rises and the original (I think it's original, who knows anymore?) Spiderman, directed by Sam Raimi. The rest are all interchangeable. Ant-Man induces as much urgency in me to run to the box office for a showing as Black Panther, Madame Web, and Ironman 5,046,987 do—which is none.
So needless to say, when I saw the ads for Monkey Man I just figured it was India's attempt at throwing their hat into the mix so they could get a slice of the pie before the inevitable crash came to a market that is becoming rapidly oversaturated to the point that it's unique value has almost been expunged completely.
I also (wrongly) figured Monkey Man to be some Marvel or DC character I had never heard of conjured up by an Indian comic book writer. I don't care for any comic book writers be it American, Canadian, Australian, or of any Asian origin. So what difference would it make if India stepped up to the plate? Would their flavor be any superior to the bland offerings that preceded them?
Well….goes to show what I know. Because this movie was gooooooooooood!
Nah, that's a disservice. This movie was amazing!
The best action flick I've seen since previously mentioned The Raid: Redemption.
I mean stupid good. Super fun and a complete surprise.
It was only through a mass text chain I am on with a few cinephiles and their reverence for the movie that made me want to take a peek one afternoon before another feature. And sure enough, this one blasted it out of the park.
Turns out that Monkey Man was neither from the MC or DC universe. Nor does he even have any lineage whatsoever in comic books, but was an original idea of Dev Patel's, who pulled triple duty in both being director, writer (collaborated w/ John Collee & Paul Angunawela), and starring in the film. Which is amazing, considering that this is his first time directing a movie.
Much like the previous book I reviewed, "Burn The Place", I must reiterate how important it is to have a furious passion for what you do and take the time necessary to bring to life that which resides in your heart. In both cases, I fully believe that to be accomplished.
From the outset, Monkey Man makes it clear that it is not your average run-of-the-mill John Wick knock-off. Not in the least bit. I found Monkey Man to be far more superior than Wick on so many levels. You see, with Wick, it's a rather simple (but effective) formula of ascending the roller coaster hill in which both Wick's validity of justified vengeance and pedigree for mass carnage are established. After that first hill is crested, it is almost like the cord of a lawnmower is pulled and you're off to the races and it's non-stop blood, bullets, and shanks until the credits roll.
I mean, it works. There is no disputing that. Otherwise, they wouldn't continue to churn out sequels.
With Monkey Man, Dev wanted more than just a Bollywood knock-off of Wick with curry-flavored bullets whizzing through the air. He yanked back the curtain and exposed to the world the evil foundation of the caste system which has plagued India for over 3,000 years.
We got a peek at the injustices in Slumdog Millionaire, but for those not privy, in its broadest sense, a caste system is a hierarchy order of social classes that distinguishes the elite from the dregs. In India there largely consists of four sects: Brahms (religious/priestly higher-ups and devotees), Kshatriyas (political and government figures), Vaishyas (real estate barons/tradesmen), and Shudra (blue-collar laborers/peasants). A similar system is also implemented in North Korea, only there it is referred to as a "Songbun". Unlike in American and European countries, where there is a multitude of opportunities to break the chain of poverty and rise to prominence, when living under a caste system, no such window exists. With the religious inclusion of reincarnation as a means for its rationality, when you are born into the bottom rung of a family residing in the Shudra sect, it is looked upon as some sort of penitent bounty of which you are paying in this present life for the sins of a previous, and until this cycle is completed, you shall remain chained to the existence of hard times.
*For a more thorough examination of how horrible this system can be, I highly recommend reading the chapter titled "Gladys" in the book "Hearts of Fire", in which Christian mission workers attend to the mentally and physically handicapped of India who are tossed aside like trash and neglected as heathen's, living alone in unspeakable conditions in the mountains, denied both love and medical assistance for their undeserved afflictions, which are attributed to transgressions of a past life.*
If this sounds infuriating and inhumane, that's because it is. Dev doesn't haphazardly use cookie-cutter governmental oppression as an excuse for putting on a Monkey Mask and going on a killing spree. He shows you the burn marks on his hands, and then the genesis of how the scars got there in the first place.
He also doesn't suspend the laws of gravity for the appeasement of mass audiences but couples the main characters' rage with a slice of Sun Tsu's wisdom to build a character of absolute verisimilitude.
"If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."
I know that I am likely butchering the concepts of India's governmental system and only providing the broad strokes from the few materials that I have read, but the rage it spurns is pretty obvious, and you could get a sense of that in the passionate way Dev creates the story of Monkey Man.
Make no mistake about it, this is one very dark film whose main character's battles against a superior enemy is only about a quarter of the story. Nationalism, unfettered, to the level that it is depicted in Monkey Man is a very real thing. And the pain that it inflicts and the scars that it leaves in its wake, leave people with trauma that they won't soon forget.
First five-star film of the year, and an absolute grand slam. One of the best action films I think I have ever seen, and one that I plan on buying on Blu-Ray.
Bravo Dev Patel! Ya done did good.
Verdict: Watch
Stars: *****
Cousins: Strange Days, Slumdog Millionaire, Point Break, They Live!, Holy Spider, 1984, John Wick