Monkey Man (2024)

April 11, 2024 1:14 PM

An anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless.
posted by TheophileEscargot (6 comments total)

Violent and bloody revenge thriller set in India. Decent fun and stylish, but not exactly original under the style. Not at all convinced by the high-speed auto-rickshaw chase having briefly driven one.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 1:18 PM on April 11 [1 favorite]

This is a very 70s movie beneath the modern flourishes.
posted by praemunire at 9:12 PM on April 12 [2 favorites]

...That said, I mostly enjoyed it and liked the way the sallying forth to battle of the hijra was depicted. I mean, you could already tell back in their temple district (?) that those were some street queens--even the youngest and prettiest looked like they'd had to cut a bitch or two in their day--but it looked great.
posted by praemunire at 9:48 AM on April 13 [3 favorites]

I just a bit more about it, and while it was obviously low budget, I didn't realise it was as low as $10 million. For that money it looked good! I agree on the Seventies vibe, it kind of harked back to Bruce Lee movies. Must be a deliberate choice as Dev Patel was born in 1990.

Godzilla Year Zero was only $15 million, interesting that we seem to be seeing more low budget movies that go head to head with Hollywood even in action genres, not just people-talking-in-rooms movies.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 8:23 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]

Vox: Monkey Man’s imperfect political critique still packs a punch

Monkey Man stops short of critiquing the BJP’s policies explicitly — and in fact reportedly underwent minor changes to avoid doing so. But key plot points levy clear broadsides against India’s current political leaders, Hindu nationalism, and corruption in law enforcement...

Given the framing of these characters, Shakti has been perceived by many viewers and critics as an analogue for Modi and key members of the BJP, like Yogi Adityanath, a far-right populist spiritual leader and politician who built his following in part through a fiery, reactionary interpretation of Hinduism. Like Modi, Adityanath has been accused of using his political power to harm minority communities...

It’s worth noting that the film’s inclusion and celebration of trans people in India, some of whom are part of a community known as hijra, is also significant, directly pushing back on how they have been marginalized by media and in society.

posted by TheophileEscargot at 11:17 AM on April 21 [7 favorites]

I finally got around to watching this streaming and I loved it. I loved seeing basically a John Wick story (I know that's just the most recent of a long genre) where the protagonist is from the outcasts of society and not all that good at what he's doing (until magic happens). I loved the training sequence by tabla. I loved, as a trans woman, the dress goes spinny moment of the hijra in the final fight. Most of all, I loved that Dev Patel made this because Hollywood wouldn't cast him as an action star, so he cast himself.
posted by kokaku at 9:16 PM on July 29 [5 favorites]