The first Monkey Man reviews are in and it looks like Dev Patel’s directorial debut is wowing the critics and the fans lucky enough to have seen it. The feature got its world premiere at the SXSW festival over in Austin, Texas last night with Patel and producer Jordan Peele in attendance.
Patel reportedly got a standing ovation at the film’s premiere, so reports Deadline.
The film is described as an action thriller about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless.
Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.
After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Our mates over at HeyUGuys rated the film with the bumper 5 stars saying that the movie is ‘as impressive a cinematic achievement as we are going to see this year.’
Elsewhere, and in contrast, The Daily Beast had reservations, saying that ‘though Patel tries his absolute best to glue it all together with his solid performance, not even his own conviction can buoy a movie that doesn’t know how to tread water.’
It looks like most of the Monkey Man reviews are positive, though.
The Playlist said: ‘If the results are more than a little preachy, it’s only because Patel cares so passionately about the issues he spotlights and the cinematic language of violence he uses to discuss them.’
FandomWire said that the film had ‘awesome action’; ‘Although the writing does leave something to be desired, the strong direction, incredible action sequences, and yet another incredible performance from patel makes the film stand out above much of the rest of modern action cinema.’
The cast of the film includes Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, and Makarand Deshpande. It will hit cinemas later this year.
The film currently has a release date set for 5th April so not too long to wait.
Check out all of those Monkey Man reviews in full at the end of the links.
