The wait was worth it.
In the realm of action cinema, that is of course nothing new.
However, the way it occurs here is.
The moment is intimate, drawn out, and very, very red.
For its mastermind, it also must play like vindication.
By which standards, the film is an unqualified success.
The narrative reason for such violent spectacle is thin but effective.
As an adult, he makes ends meet by taking his beatings in a squalid Mumbai fight club.
There the Kid is asked to dress up as the monkey and to lose badly.
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A straightforward revengers tragedy,Monkey Mans plotting can be fleet and at times muddied.
The effect is one of despair and gloom, but also exuberance.
The film, like the titular character, cannot hold still.
In fact, the first act ofMonkey Manis not necessarily wall-to-wallaction.
But a gnawing sense of tension is never relieved until Patel is allowed to go fully rabid.
While existing as a simple entertainment, there are palpable demons in Patels onscreen battles.
And the battles themselves are spectacular.
YetMonkey Mandoesnt fully pivot back to the incoherent shaky-cam chaos of the 2000s.
More impressive is the choice to forego the recent trend of action heroes being near invulnerable boogeymen.
The result is a breathtaking experience, if not an always smooth one.
But this means Patels rampage as a director is only beginning.
Monkey Man premiered at SXSW on March 11.
It opens nationwide on April 5.
Rating:
4 out of 5
