Spoilers will unleash the beast.

Genre films that figure revenge stories often want to set up the motivation right at the beginning so they can focus on the action later on. The way this film begins, we’re already at the retribution stage and discovering the back story as we go along. I feel this approach gets us right in where we want while only needing a few flashbacks to reveal what we more or less can guess happened. As much action as we get, you’ll also get some substance but I think it makes for a solid offering.

(Credit: Universal Pictures)

Monkey Man (2024) is directed by Dev Patel based on his story. He also wrote the screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee. An anonymous man that goes by Bobby (Dev Patel) participates in underground fights to make ends meet, but what he really wants is revenge. For that he manages to gain employment working in a luxury brothel which caters to the criminal elite.

It’s rare that an action thriller has this much of a conscience, but you’ll find a lot of drama amidst Bobby’s revenge story. Suffice to say that things don’t go as plan, but eventually we’ll follow him up the ladder up to where the big bosses are. There are some pacing issues as we go into the second act and things slow down. Eventually we do see our protagonist get up to the last rung of the ladder where his retribution awaits.

It works overall. The change in pacing and scenario as we have our hero’s journey stalled before continuing may feel challenging to a crowd expecting no-holds barred action. Instead we do get some socio-political commentary of the war between social classes. It’s not heavy handed, it’s plain as it can be and of course the corruption at high social spheres is nothing new and always in the spotlight. This adds gravitas to our hero’s quest plus grounds the storyline.

Highly recommended with minor reservations. The heavy drama might deter the popcorn action aficionados, but for audiences wanting a revenge plot with a more grounded agenda this will be a godsend. There’s some pacing issues that might cause a lull around the middle but eventually the film gains its second wind for the ending. Well worth a watch.

That will do for now.