Monkey Man - From Slumdog Millionaire to Bona Fide Action Hero

Watching an actor-filmmaker mature from his roots is always an interesting experience. We’ve always known that Dev Patel had more than just comedy in him, and we’ve been proven correct in this assumption with the recently released Monkey Man.

This movie was initially intended to be released on Netflix before Jordan Peele acquired the rights and secured a theatrical release, showing a very different tone from Patel’s previous work in the globally acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire.

Instead of the lighthearted comedy of Slumdog, we see Dev Patel in a dark and violent yarn with social commentary, mythological roots, and lots of beautifully choreographed fights, which are fast becoming the norm in Patel’s home country of India, as seen in other blockbusters like the epic Baahubali films.

Patel delivers a very visual, rather than verbal, performance in most of his action set pieces as the protagonist Kid, a forcible vigilante with a quest for vengeance against a spiritual leader who oppressed the fictional city of Yatana and a police officer responsible for the death of his mother.

Pacing for Monkey Man is impressive and revolutionary. Cinema is as much about action as it is about verbal dialogues, and the Slumdog Millionaire actor-director makes full use of both in this blockbuster.

Patel communicates Kid’s thoughts not with words but with visual cues through eye and body movement, ensuring the pace is not bogged down by unnecessary conversation.

Credit: Universal

Best of all, the film delivers action sequences as they should be seen on screen. Every fight has raw emotion, with each character giving the set piece as if it were their last day on Earth. Fights occur in almost every location imaginable - the fight ring, a kitchen, you name it. Make sure to look out for that ultimate duel with the main villain!

To sum up, Monkey Man is a fast-paced and gritty action flick that all but elevates Patel as an actor to the level of other New Millennium action heroes like Keanu Reeves, Ryan Gosling, and many others. The direction is also nearly at par with Quentin Tarantino’s work in Kill Bill, but a notch more violent and engaging.

Most importantly, however, is that Dev Patel, while consciously adhering to the formula that made the abovementioned action heroes memorable, still manages to carve a mark of his own in the cramped world of the action genre.