Sometimes you see a trailer and you get excited to see the film. But, there is always a question of whether it lives up to the promise that tiny preview makes. is the action as good? Will the story carry it through? Or did we just see everything good about the movie before we even got to the theater?
Monkey Man is a story about a boy who loses his mother and spends the rest of his life seeking vengeance. He tracks down people and finds ways to access them, learning how to fight and take punches along the way. The storyline is one that isn’t new, but feels different from the rest. i thought it was well done and played out well.
The acting in this film was very good. While it felt like a Bollywood film, it also felt like a Hollywood film. I thought the cross between was one that was well tempered. There was the emotion and drama of an Indian film, but with less theatrics and extremes in the acting and action. And the hybrid of the two worked well. The action was great and there were moments when it was even beautiful.
The direction is nothing innovative, but it is worth mentioning that this is Dev Patel’s directorial debut. His work in conjunction with the cinematographer is seemless and that is always beneficial to the film. Whether it was a directorial or cinematic decision, the progression of the style as the story moved along was a good one. In the beginning the film feels flimsy, erratic and untrained. It feels messy. But, as we move along the film it becomes more focused and elegant. Even the more chaotic scenes are balanced and even. I thought that was a nice touch.
The cinematography is nothing special, but there are some aesthetic scenes. The color palette is dark throughout, even in lighter moments. However, it lends well to the story as a whole. The feel was gritty and mood manipulating.
As a side note: representation has been a topic of discussion and I think it is worth mentioning here. Representation shouldn’t be taking something that has been done and virtue signaling someone into the role just to placate a community. Taking a role that was originally made specifically to be male and casting a woman isn’t representation. Neither is casting a person of color in something written for a white actor. That is trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Barbie was great for women because it was written for women. Black Panther was great for African-American communities because the comics were written with those stories in mind. We need representation in stories that are made specifically for us, but made with quality and intention. And I think this film did that in many ways.
Overall, I would give it an eight. I thought it was going to be a little better based on the trailer, but I thought it was a good movie. It’s definitely worth seeing and I thought it was a lot better than the recycled stories and films we’ve been getting. I would definitely pay full price for a ticket to watch it.
