Monkey Man

[Butchers Blind]

Directed by Dev Patel and produced by Jordan Peele. This looks all kinds of nuts so I hope the film lives up to that trailer.

[madhair60]

so this is a vanity flick for dev patel then.

it looks like it might be alright.

[BlodwynPig]

Found that boring. But I haven't watched anything for a few years now, so maybe I'm out of sorts. This would have drawn me in 10 years ago.

[phantom_power]

That looks fucking amazing. Apparently it was going to be a Netflix Original but Jordan Peele thought it deserved to be seen at the cinema so he bought it off them

[Blue Jam]

That looks ace.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

so this is a vanity flick for dev patel then.

Is it? It doesn't look like a Vin Diesel type of thing where his character is the coolest, toughest bloke in the world.

Also, I expect someone like Patel isn't going to get cast in a role like this unless he does it himself. Proving he can play it could have a positive impact for other minority/scrawny actors.

Surely this is going to feature on the soundtrack

[Butchers Blind]

Getting some good reviews from the screening at SXSW.

[bgmnts]

If he actually harnessed the power of Hanuman it'd be a definite yes from me, but a tentative yes it remains.

Have we had a western made retelling of the Ramayana? The monkey bridge was a memorable piece of storytelling when I was a kid, and I don't think it's been done justice.

Neither has Journey to the West but that's a different kettle of fish.

[Shaxberd]

Turns out, little monkey fella.

[surreal]

Disappointed this is not about Brian from Spaced

[Butchers Blind]

2nd trailer

[Noodle Lizard]

I've seen this now.

Erm ... I dunno. I think since the 80s, people have been a bit more self-aware about writing and directing themselves expertly thumping people for two hours. Even Tom Cruise and Stallone hide behind an exec producer credit these days, it's really the realm of Neil Breen and few else now. So it's strange to see Dev Patel of all people doing just that in 2024. He's in every scene, and there are an awful lot of lingering close-ups of him all sweaty and tormented etc. Just a bit odd, you don't really see that much anymore.

Ignoring that, you've just got a sort of ordinary revenge action flick (it actually namechecks John Wick towards the beginning, which felt like a bit of a defense mechanism). The action is fine, if unremarkable, and is sometimes muddily choreographed so you can't really tell what's going on. It had a couple of nice ideas, but often they would be repeated in a later fight (or later in the same fight) which makes them stand out less.

The story is really nothing we haven't seen before, and the few things which differentiate it from yer John Wicks are ultimately trivial except for the fact that it takes itself a fair bit more seriously. Its sincerity might be a boon when a lot of contemporary Hollywood action is all banter and memes, but I don't know if there's enough else going on to make it work. I was a bit confused at the end when I saw that it supposedly took three writers to get where it ended up!

The fact that it's set in India is cool, but since actual Indian action films are getting a bit more attention since RRR, it feels a bit less special (even redundant) to see Hollywood have a go. Dev Patel's fine enough, as he often is, but I couldn't help feeling a bit of second-hand embarrassment knowing that this was something he'd given himself to do. Obviously that won't affect the average viewer, just cynical old cunts like me.

It's fine. Wouldn't watch it again.

[Sonny_Jim]

I think the sole reason I enjoyed my rewatch of Nobody recently was because it has just the right amount of silliness to make it fun.  I don't think I want to watch Nobody with the fun taken out of it.

[13 schoolyards]

There's a bit of fun in this (the punching bag scene was good) but the shaky-cam during some of the big action scenes was a let down.

I did like the way it didn't follow most recent action movies down the "oh shit, we've stirred up the baddest man alive and now he's remorselessly murdering everyone" path and went more comic-book style with the plot (in that he shoots his shot early and just isn't good enough, gets smacked down hard, and has to go off and get his shit together before coming back for round two).

Also, because Patel can act, the first act with him clearly freaking out at the idea of what he's about to do was a lot more interesting than when he becomes the stock standard emotionless killing machine

[Butchers Blind]

Thought this was good as a directorial debut and he tried to do something in this genre with a bit more depth. It wasn't without some issues as previously mentioned regarding the shaky cam during the fight sequence, although I understand this had to be re-choreographed due to Patel breaking his hand.

[dead-ced-dead]

There's a lot to appreciate here, and Patel's scope is impressive. The flaws mentioned above about the shaky cam action.

I can understand why Patel cast himself as the lead. He recently said in an interview that any action film made in the west would only cast Indian actors as the sidekick or the guy hacking the mainframe - so maybe there is some egotism there, but it's heart is in the right place.

I also reckon Patel is a GBOL with the trans characters subplot being a positive representation.

[George White]

I believe the hijra elder is played by a cis male actor (And there are probably a few stuntmen in sarees) but there are trans actresses in it.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Saw this yesterday. Decent enough action film, enjoyed it and the different setting but also nothing I ain't seen before (aside from the setting), cheers.

Didn't Dev already show some action chops in that 'based on a true story' film about a siege on some prestigious Indian hotel?

[checkoutgirl]

Turns out, little monkey fella.

alien gives Dev Patel a beard

[greenman]

Thought this was pretty great, not really the "Indian Wick" it was hyped as, more an intense drama/thriller with action in it. Honestly I think would have felt a bit tacky to make the action too "cool" with wide shots and graceful moves.

[George White]

Just interviewed two of the Hijra actresses for an article. One was a bit nervous at being asked so many questions, the other absolutely lovely.

[George White]

Here's my article. https://headstuff.org/entertainment/film/trans-rep-in-monkey-man-interview-with-the-kick-ass-hijras/