Monkey Man Movie Review

The TJCS crew discuss and review Monkey Man starring Dev Patel.
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[@HunterHuiet]

Monkey Man in my honest opinion was a ridiculously fun movie

[@JasonJia909]

Liked the movie a lot. I thought it had some legit flaws that prevent it from being an A or A+ for me, but overall very solid and an incredible directorial debut for Dev.

[@namouche7118]

How I miss the days when people watch movies for the experience and just to be entertained. Now, everyone wants to get technical about movies. The movie was awesome, action was good, acting was good. That's all one can ask for.

[@gagethent4710]

The action was mid af. This movies not gonna be remembered a year from now.

[@cloudystorm7314]

Good action doesn’t make a movie good. You also need good characters and story that flows well.

[@insane2741]

Yeah I think the same! Pirates of the Caribbean is my favourite series because of how entertaining it is even though it's ratings are comparatively less!!

[@wrestlinginfodude2644]

Lol action was great ,and movie will be remembered in the times to come

[@markwatkins4825]

Some people like the technical aspects of a movie

[@JasonJia909]

100% agree with John about the flow- the transition from 2nd to 3rd act is too slow and felt like a tonal shift (which can sometimes be good, but wasn't here)

[@FloFlo060]

I heard the shakey cam went crazy in the earlier action scenes

[@Thekrisavalon]

I loved it. All the Indian lore and the call backs to some of my favorite action movies

[@joshjacks2837]

This was a great example of my personal rule of "skip the trailers if you're already interested". One of the best physical gags in the film was actually shown in the trailer.

[@jeanpaulloze2958]

I had a great time reminded of a mix of The Raid and Kill Bill

[@Janthdanl]

I really had an incredible time with this movie, the entire atmosphere of it felt constricting and tightly packed and claustrophobic and the action was incredibly well done in my opinion

[@mckloggins]

Just saw it, pretty good, but I think a shorter run time would have helped with the pacing.

[@ZachAttackReviews]

Loved the movie throughout. I was super invested in all aspects with minor nitpicks. But i think its one of the best action movies ive seen in a while

[@djoetma]

Dev Patel needs to get a huge production so that he can build his name. He's one of few actors in Hollywood that could be both a big name and still a good actor. Problem is that his name doesn't sell movies. He did everything himself for this movie that Netflix dropped. Thankfully Jordan Peele not only believed in it, but even pushed for a cinematic release. They only had a budget of 10 million and all the limitations of the pandemic meaning they had to reuse a lot of the broken set pieces while performers were reused as well and Patel got hurt several times. So as a director he really had to be creative to get everything done. I don't want to see him being the guy that struggles to get his stuff out. As he said himself, the only way for him to be in a role like this was to do the movie himself, if not at most he'd be a funny sidekick or the guy who hacks the computer for the main character.

[@seanwjones07]

It’s good but not great, I watched the sneak peek the other night. I’d grade it at 8 out of 10. It’s a solid debut directed film for Dev Patel.

[@MassillonObie]

I agree on most of what you say. The MAJOR problem I have with the movie is that Patel seemed to study Bay movies. The cameras were up everyone’s nose and shaky as heck. There were times that I had to look away because it was making me dizzy. Is this a way to hide things? Like how WWE zooms in and out of every move to hide the “fake?”

[@Brook11223]

I just finished watching it right now and its more than a revenge thriller. It tells a political commentary about the voiceless, the marginalized as they try to stand up for themselves. It's about fighting for what you believe in and Dev Patel captures that so well in his directorial debut.

[@hvitekristesdod]

I loved it. 9/10

[@KameronMcQueen]

I thought it was fun! Could've been 30 mins shorter but still a solid action flick.

[@joecalahan4068]

Just saw it and i loved this movie.

[@jonathanhart2459]

10/10 amazing one of my fave of the year so far.

[@ChrisSmithBass]

This is a movie for my Dad and I. Looking forward to seeing it!

[@TheNetflixNook]

do you think they added the dog because of John Wick?

[@MrVitamincpp]

I don't like it, I love it

[@AM_9924]

Dev Patel is superb. Looking forward to watching it.

[@burnoutjunkie42]

I like the message it was coming across but man when you feel that epic slow down. It’s EPIC, imo it should’ve been edited better so the flow of the movie could feel like a high.

[@dazzenseabiscuit1366]

Didn't have any of the issues John had with Monkey Man. Awesome film, only minor problem I had was the shaky cam.

[@kacinema96]

Maybe I just need to watch it again, but the whole second act or so felt really slow and boring. I felt like I was nodding off a few times. Also, the ending felt kind of abrupt.

[@creedecriswell634]

Kill bill is one of my favorite action movies of all time. It’s also really sweet to see a truly happy ending to a movie.

[@chanaihabru3694]

I love the movie . Totally wholesome

[@rbkluv29]

Couldn’t agree more! First 30-40 minutes especially I’m like falling asleep! But once the action gets going and final 30 minutes 🔥

[@BrotherDog]

I dig that Canadian Star Fleet shirt

[@ygbr2997]

i got dizzy watching this film

[@NotThatDeep]

I absolutely loved it! Hubby did too.

[@waterjack3]

I was a great film.. I really enjoyed it

[@WargodFilms]

Have to agree and not dissagre but I loved it and think he tried to cram alot just in case he doesn't get a chance to tell it again but very good film for his first debut just thought he should saved ty he social government and saving his people for a second film and build off of that him trying to fight off a corrupted government and introduce new characters to fight along with him

[@rohanxdavis]

My wife and I had a blast watching this movie. We'll probably watch it again in a while. We didnt really notice the shaky cam as much until people online started pointing at it, and have to disagree with you on the pacing. The pacing worked for us for sure

[@abcatos]

Imagine same movie with white guy as leading actor. It would be nominated for Oscars then. 🤦

[@petecolon162]

As if John wick was Oscar nominated. Get out of here you goof ball

[@abcatos]

@@petecolon162 🤦

[@captaincorona9488]

Movie felt long. You can cut 10 minutes so you can streamline most of the action sequences. First half much better than the second half. Don’t care much about Indian politics. Action was incredible.

[@heretowatch2672]

I actually thought Dev Patel took a lot of things from the Green Knight, at least in the vision scene. I enjoyed the movie, the fighting scenes had unexpected moments to it. I couldn't recommend it to people who liked John Wick though, if they don't also like a lot of story on their movies. I didn't see the storyline as save India as much as the corruption that can come from governments and demagogues.

[@ty-ronrice5110]

Missing my out of the theatre reactions

[@honestcomments8053]

Interesting

[@diamondhandsbillionaire]

Amazing Movie 🎥😍🎉

[@benm5970]

This was a good, albeit flawed movie, I was quite interested in it because it looked like a cool, John Wick type of movie, and while it did turn out to be very different than what was advertised I still liked it Dev Patel is good as the lead, for a large part of the movie he’s not really made out to be a kickass fighter, in fact his role in the ring is to throw matches, not win them, and so he gives off the vibe of someone who isn’t really a fighter but something about him makes you guess that he’s got something under the hood, the action is solid enough, it’s not amazing and early on it did suffer from a bit of shaky cam but it did kinda go away as it went along, I would equate this movie’s action to movies like Taken, competent enough but definitely not among some of the more impressive ones we’ve seen in recent years, Sharlto Copley is also enjoyable, he doesn’t have a big role or anything but he plays this really eccentric ring announcer and it’s just cool watching him have so much fun in this role I also liked the beginning of the movie where he’s working as a server in the building of the rich douchebags, that part of the movie had a real sense of suspense to it, because the entire time you feel like it’s just building to this big “Shit’s about to go down” moment, and once it does it’s a hell of a lot of fun, and yes, I think it’s fair to warn you that this isn’t a full blown action movie, like I said, the first act is definitely more suspense based, you get a bit of action before it ends, practically none for the second and then the third act is pretty much all action, and so I would say it’s about 60% action and 40% not, I think the amount of action does ultimately outweigh the non action but only barely The movie is quite flawed though, the biggest of which is the second act, out of nowhere the movie felt like it just slowed to a crawl and I was honestly very bored during that part of the movie, although it did have this really sweet part where Dev Patel is hitting a bag and this guy is using bongos to help him train, I also thought the supporting characters were kinda weak, Dev Patel has this friend who he’s with for a lot of the movie but he honestly didn’t leave that much of an impression on me, he was just kinda….there, and lastly I felt like the movie’s mythology behind this monkey is a little sloppily told, because during the beginning of the story being told about it it makes it seem like the monkey is hated amongst the people but after a while it felt like the movie was suddenly telling us it was a symbol of honor, it just felt like the movie was giving me mixed signals about it at that point and I feel like they could’ve done a better job establishing it And so while I didn’t think this movie was as cool as it could’ve been I still enjoyed it, Dev Patel was really good, the movie’s first and third acts, while different had their own unique flare to them and while I don’t think this is gonna rank amongst 2024’s best by any means it was a solid movie. 7/10

[@Sniptosnipe]

Pretty much everything John said, is how I felt about the movie.

[@Br0wnCh3]

Saw this today. Eh it’s fine. The action sucks. To much close up shots and heaps of shakey cam.

[@Logan-fr6uw]

the camera work didn't work for me

[@VickyPrakash931]

Best movie of 2024 so far!

[@bless1984]

To me, it had V for Vendetta vibes

[@Alan1978M]

John has turned into a kid who has all the best toys and now expects too much and isn’t impressed by anything anymore

[@bugeye177]

That's what you got out of that?

[@jasonthomas5793]

I didn't get that feeling from this review.

[@jasonthomas5793]

​@@bugeye177I agree with you. I didn't get that from that review.

[@jasonthomas5793]

Which is odd because one of issues with the film was that it had too much going on.

[@gabewhite9182]

It’s almost as if that’s what film criticism is. When you impressed by slop that’s all you want.

[@damonestephens8722]

To me it was an okay film. I loved the action but the pace was very slow especially with the beginning. And second I was confused at certain parts.

[@saulgoodwin8328]

i wanted to care about the characters, but i didnt. i wouldve liked more character building and understanding what happened to his family in the beginning

[@Maruchiru]

Basically it is a movie for streaming.

[@cedarandsound]

I saw it in theaters, it's better in theaters. Streaming is better for tv shows, not movies.

[@Carlo_ReNews]

0:25 Yeah at least if we pretend The Last Airbender didn’t happen 😂

[@niyantsroom6561]

That ain’t his fault lol

[@Carlo_ReNews]

@@niyantsroom6561 Yeah but still the acting was bad

[@kacinema96]

I actually thought he did ok in that movie.

[@niyantsroom6561]

@@Carlo_ReNews that whole script was shit, not much you could have really done acting wise to perform well when the dialogue you are given was just trash

[@a.white.nj85]

Could’ve been good but too long 😵‍💫

[@eveboone7342]

I can’t trust John judgment on movies anymore after criticizing the marvel multiverse and his favorite superhero movie is Spider-Man into the multiverse 😅

[@TroyHillTalks]

I think this is easily the most overhyped movie of the year so far.

[@cedarandsound]

Why's that? I've seen no hype whatsoever.

[@drg598]

Actually it is good

[@jstmarton]

​@Nosajjao the trailer was awesome so everyone was talking about it. It's also getting a lot of attention as Dev Pattel has disclosed his hardships whilst making the film. This is all common knowledge and has been going around for a bit.

[@cedarandsound]

@@jstmarton the trailer was good and I guess for some people that means it’s overhyped, pretty low bar for self-disappointment if you ask me.

[@k--music]

Huh? It barely had hype at all aside from people tweeting “Indian John wick” when the trailer released

[@GnankiViolet]

Lol campea's so racist

[@nichol1866]

The movie lost me when he was about finished at the monastery. Does nobody want to address the identity politics that were snuck in to the story arc? How did this certain group go from being helpless to all of a sudden being mythic hashashin that come in and blindside everyone? All you have to do is think your something and you magically become something without any known training.. other than that I though Dev Patel was absolutely amazing! I felt his presence at all times. It was just that random insertion of the a certain group that felt very forced and not at all relevant to the story. Not hating and don’t think that it can’t work but in this case it was clearly an agenda to pander.

[@cedarandsound]

Helpless? Since when?

[@drg598]

Actually it is relevant Transgenders r revered in India,(their blessings r considered good) But offcourse a good chunk in Indian society don't want to live with them but they don't usually harm them bcz of beleifs I am student of indology,and India is our main and most important subject!

[@k--music]

“Snuck into the story” brother the entire story is about Indian politics and religion no shit it has an agenda. It wasn’t random at all. I think it’s okay for a movie to be about something

[@cedarandsound]

@@k--music People who get triggered over themes probably shouldn't watch too many movies, there aren't many good movies out there without an "agenda".

[@noemiecansier8466]

You’re completely ignoring the fact that Hijra are revered in Indian mythology and culture and their inclusion is essential to the mythic and anti colonial themes of the film. Just cause you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s forced or out of place.

[@Bravonewyork]

I knew it wasn’t gonna be good from the trailers it just didn’t capture me.

[@sivle4007]

This is one of those movies that just looks like such a stupid fucking waste of time and money

[@jimmyabram6358]

Mehh at best he is not a action star

[@damonestephens8722]

What?? The action was the best part of the movie. Everything else was kind of a little off

[@oddman2435]

It's mediocre

[@bryonstevenson1084]

The movie was trash and I stand on that wasted hours of my life watching that movie 😡

[@slkknifelover]

NO MORE TRANS PROPAGANDA!!! sickening! Stop it Hollywood. Ruins a good film. People walked out of the theatre... we are sick of it

[@spinky2234]

Cry

[@0miy0]

I hate propaganda for sure, but there wasn't too much of it in this film, just showed they existed

[@VariTimo]

Get a hobby.

[@slkknifelover]

@@VariTimo I have plenty. One of which is commenting on crap like trans people in movies. Sickening. But thanks for the suggestion! I have to many as it is

[@L_Lawliet1907]

@@slkknifelover womp womp

[@asu5632]

Trailer was epic. Movie sadly was trash. Dev is amazing. Script sucked. Way too obvious. Way too stereotypical. Way too violent. I was bored most way. Lion is a great movie. Slum dog is great too. But this one, sorry. Fighting for sake of fighting nah. I wish it had more dialogue