'Monkey Man' review: Dev Patel's film is a political allegory bathed in blood

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Like “Slumdog Millionaire,” Dev Patel's “Monkey Man” is set in Mumbai and has a touch of fable to it. But in tone and texture, it could hardly be more different. Bathed in blood and fury, “Monkey Man” is one gory coming out party for Patel, who also directed and co-wrote the film, writes AP Film Writer Jake Coyle in his review.

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Dev Patel in a scene from the film “Monkey Man.” This image released by Universal Pictures shows Dev Patel in a scene from the film “Monkey Man.” This image released by Universal Pictures shows Dev Patel in a scene from the film “Monkey Man.” ? The endearingly earnest, scrawny kid of “Slumdog Millionaire” has steadily grown into a singularly intense and sensitive leading man.

These scenes, presided over by Sharlto Copley’s ring leader, have a masochist edge to them, as does Kid’s corresponding efforts to get closer to a den of power and corruption housed in the high-rise King’s Club. We don’t know initially the reasons for his obsession; he’s a mysterious, single-minded figure compelled by hellbent revenge.

But while “Monkey Man” is thrillingly enigmatic at first, it’s overly leaden with exposition once it settles in. To its credit, the movie has other things on its mind. It opens with the Hindu epic poem “Ramayana,” in which the deity Hanuman mistakes the sun for a mango and has his powers stripped. The real-world metaphors and Hindu contexts of “Monkey Man” add to the film’s potency but aren’t always smoothly incorporated. This is a movie that namechecks “John Wick,” too. And it’s more successful in its frenetic fight choreography leading up to a bloody third-act showdown imbued with the rage of class uprising.

 

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