Monkey Man

Dev Patel hat sich in einer neuen kreativen Rolle etabliert und es ist klar, dass mit ihm in Zukunft auch in anderen Bereichen als nur schauspielerischen Positionen gerechnet werden kann. Damit hat Monkey Man seine Rolle erfüllt. (03.04.2024)

Wer auf ein actiongeladenes und intensives Erlebnis wartet, wird zwangsläufig enttäuscht sein, auch wenn ich mich nicht mehr erinnern kann, wann ich zuletzt einen Film gesehen habe, der eine so reine und greifbare Wut ausstrahlt. Patel hat eigentlich eine zerbrechliche Geschichte über eine brutale Rache gedreht, die auf der Basis des Mythos über den Affenkönig dem zeitgenössischen Indien und seinen sozialen Kluften und Ungerechtigkeiten droht. Es ist ein erfrischender Film, der keinen Macho-Rächer aufbaut, sondern eine Figur, die zuerst ihre männliche und weibliche Seite ausgleichen muss, um (als Affenfaust) zur Gerechtigkeit zu werden. Monkey Man mythologisiert schön, arbeitet mit der Antithese des Bildes von Indien als Land des Lichts, der Düfte und Farben, wie wir es aus dem fürchterlichen Film Slumdog Millionär kennen. Dev Patel spielt in beiden Rollen voll mit. Schauspielerisch intensiv, in der Regie einfallsreich – allein schon wie der Film den Stil originell verändert und die gleiche Geschichte zweimal erzählt, hat mich zuverlässig gefesselt. Das Motiv der Mutterschaft und die daraus resultierende Zerbrechlichkeit des modernen Hanumans haben mich auch emotional erwischt. Das Ergebnis? Ein Film, der zwar mit Action sparsam umgeht, aber keineswegs karg erscheint. Er kämpft sich genauso wie der Hauptcharakter ehrlich durch seine Momente. Der Affe hat mich umgehauen. (05.04.2024)

Where John Wick is all about fancy choreography and nicely shot bombastic action, Monkey Man adds a more human hero with motivations closer to my own, animalism, an unadorned and attractive setting in India, mysticism, and thought-provoking social themes (even if those are only lightly pitched). Yeah, I can enjoy an "action movie" in this form. Audiovisually top notch, a fantastic directorial debut. (05.04.2024)

Beautiful. The first proper action flick of the year from the inexperienced Dev Patel, who shines both in acting and directing, and to come up with such a great debut in this day and age, takes my appreciation and compliments. Even if the 5 stars aren't entirely pure, I'll happily give them to Monkey Man, this is after all my favourite genre and a film I'll happily watch with friends again, so why not! At its core, Monkey Man is a classic revenge actioner, but thanks to the Indian realities and culture, it has a very different vibe and actually feels very fresh. I loved the contrast where one scene is slums and utter poverty and squalor and the next is skyscrapers with rich scumbags doing coke instead of shots and banging Miss World. There are only three action scenes, but they are nice and long. The first lasts at least 20 minutes, it’s where Dev Patel doesn't know how to fight that much yet, so he gets a decent ass kicking too. Halfway through, the film switches a bit into spiritual Indian mode, where Patel gets a workout and they nicely show India from a different direction, so that we can then get a look at the Ring, this is where the film is most reminiscent of the Ong-bak, and it’s all wrapped up with an ultra brutal long finale that combines both John Wick and The Raid. The finale is again long, pleasingly brutal, with great cinematography (Patel nicely switches camera angles: bird's eye view, first person camera, close up and distance), and I like that the film has virtually no shooting but relies on melee weapons, and I liked the innovative element of rocket firecrackers!! The Indian assassins at the end were a delight, they were pretty damn cool, and the ultimate boss fight was a nice cherry on top. I had a great time, visually properly dirty and brutal, the action scenes are polished, Patel has charisma to spare and, as I mentioned, the Indian culture suits the film very well. It could have had a little more gore, there's less of it than I wanted in the end, but I'll rise above that. 85% (05.04.2024)

Good stuff, though a little different than I expected. Dev Patel turned out to be a good action hero, but more importantly he managed to show his talent as a director. He knows how to play with visuals and over-stylized colours, beautifully evoking the feeling of two worlds in an Indian metropolis, and he's totally confident and assured in action. He makes imaginative use of camera and editing, as well as cover versions of 80s songs, and he's not afraid of blood in the slightest. Monkey Man is very much a gritty spectacle, and in the action scenes it recalls The Raid or Ong-bak, and Tom Yum Goong with Tony Jaa in its dirtiness and uncompromising nature. So it's rather disappointing that all this visual and action deliciousness is based on the most banal revenge story, there are virtually no supporting characters and the Indian mysticism has perhaps too much space for my taste. Moreover, it doesn't really get going properly until somewhere around the middle, so I left the cinema feeling that I might not have gotten quite what I was hoping for. As a debut, however, Monkey Man is mature, imaginative and clearly acted and filmed with gusto. As an action filmmaker, Dev Patel will definitely interest me. (02.04.2024)