Monkey Man

Dev Patel said trans rights! Monkey Man rips so fucking hard. Deeply entrenched in current Indian politics and the rise of right wing pundits who use Hinduism as a scapegoat to impede the rights of the lower class, Dev Patel has taken a very clear side. He would use that same imagery, those same Gods, to fight back against the oppressors in a spectacularly bloody way. Patel's directorial debut uses a pastiche of filmmaking techniques developed by other action movie directors, but with a clear vision for how and why they work. Using the frenetic camera work of the Bourne franchise helps to establish the disorienting nature of trhe fight scenes. But it works because said fight scenes have excellent choreography. Taking inspiration from directors like Michael Bay and George Miller helps establish the dark humorous edge of the film, which enhances the overall effect of the action sequences. There are shots directly reminiscent of Hardcore Henry (that movie may not be good, but it was innovative and deserves way more love than it gets).There were scenes directly inspired by Ip Man and The Raid. This is like a film study of great action filmmaking, and an excellent start to what could be a beautiful budding career for Dev Patel behind the camera. Also, yes, I'll address it, obviously this movie would not exist without John Wick. The comparisons are obvious and undeniable. They are both revenge flicks with similar stylistic aesthetics and fantastic fight choreography. Over the next few years we will probably see a lot of John Wick clones of varying quality, just as Die Hard did before it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because while they may not all be successes, there's always a chance for a movie lijke Monkey Man to remind us of the power of a great action film. Trans rights babyyyy!!!