1785. Monkey Man (English, 2024)
Action, Thriller.
⭐⭐⭐/5
The storyline is an obvious, predictable plot: a young man seeks revenge on the antagonists who murdered his mother. Cops, politicians, a fake swami, and all the cliche flavors of a typical Indian masala revenge movie are present in Monkey Man. Dev Patel depicts his character as Bobby, who is all set to burn down the fort with his later-gained superpowers. Hindu mythology offers characters that can be marketed as superheroes in the international market, and Dev took that route while crafting Monkey Man.
The movie can be applauded for its fierce action sequences, which have darker shades, sometimes feeling real. Especially noteworthy are the washroom fight and instances when Bobby dances at illegal fighting rings. These elements saved the film, considering it as the Indian version of John Wick, with a dialogue in the movie mentioning JW's gun. However, I don't believe it matches up to the JW franchise, even though the action sequences saved the day for Monkey Man.
The politics in the movie are noteworthy, reflecting Indian politics with flags and slogans aligning with left liberal agenda setups. The antagonists are clearly portrayed as supporters of the right-wing party of India. The fictional Yatana might even represent a particular Indian state. Some characters and places can be visualized to align with current politics. However, the movie's story is deeply rooted in what the so-called political leftists oppose. For them, these Indian gods are just myths. In this sense, Dev Patel, in my opinion, tried to remain neutral or at least avoided delving into religious sentiments while addressing bigger issues.
In my opinion, Monkey Man is a cliched revenge movie but with stellar action sequences. In that way, the movie is strictly average for me.
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