Monkey Man (2024) - Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikandar Kher

[Drunken Monk]

Dev Patel has refused to cater to journalists calling this film similar to John Wick. He said in a recent interview that he's far more influenced by Sammo Hung, John Woo, Jet Li and Korean cinema (which he loves).

[Agent U]

I love Slumdog Millionaire, but don't think I've seen Dev Patel in anything else. Nothing I can remember right now at least.

The trailer looks really good actually.

Also echo the annoyance at the constant John Wick associations. Apparently, these days if a movie has some action and not a lot of CGI, it's instantly John Wick clone... 😒

John Wick didn't create the genre, didn't invent gun fu or practical stunts, nor is it even the epitome of either (let's face it, especially in later movies, Keanu Reeves in motion is at times more comical than menacing).

[PandaPawPaw]

3 hours ago, Agent U said:

John Wick didn't create the genre, didn't invent gun fu or practical stunts, nor is it even the epitome of either (let's face it, especially in later movies, Keanu Reeves in motion is at times more comical than menacing).

[Koravec]

7 hours ago, laagi said:

I stand by what I say and still think it's a stupid gimmick to attract more potential viewers (who clearly never seen anything outside of a John Wick movie) but yeah I get it from a marketing standpoint of view. It's been there before as @KUNG FU BOB pointed out.

Your saying movies like Bullet Train, Polar, Nobody, Gray Man, Gunpowder Milkshake, Kate, Atomic Blonde, Anna, Protege, Peppermint are not a direct result of the success of John Wick? 

I disagree

[Koravec]

4 hours ago, Drunken Monk said:

Dev Patel has refused to cater to journalists calling this film similar to John Wick

Its pretty wild how dishonest artists are about their influences though, particularly seen in the music industries when bands deny who theyre ripping off or greatly influenced by. Greta Van Fleet sometimes try to deny the Zeppelin influence for example.

[laagi]

9 minutes ago, Koravec said:

Your saying movies like Bullet Train, Polar, Nobody, Gray Man, Gunpowder Milkshake, Kate, Atomic Blonde, Anna, Protege, Peppermint are not a direct result of the success of John Wick? 

I disagree

From the one's you mentioned only Bullet Train and Atomic Blonde are probably worth mentioning IMHO. I'll add Nobody and Peppermint as guilty pleasure. Yes they're probably a result of JW but some especially the aforementioned can stand very well on their own without the constant JW comparison. Let's just agree to disagree here.

[laagi]

3 hours ago, Agent U said:

John Wick didn't create the genre, didn't invent gun fu

Desperado, The Matrix, Equilibrium not to mention the entire HK heroic bloodshed genre.

[Koravec]

2 minutes ago, laagi said:

Let's just agree to disagree here.

Idk buddy, sounds like you actually agree with me 🤝.  A lot easier to greenlight a movie concept with an already successful formula.  

Surprised at the all a sudden Wick slander on this thread. Its not a perfectly executed franchise for me either, but still been overall enjoyable as hell over the years.

[laagi]

Just now, Koravec said:

Surprised at the all a sudden Wick slander on this thread. Its not a perfectly executed franchise for me either, but still been overall enjoyable as hell over the years.

Far from it sir! Just the constant comparison every time a new action movie drops. I love John Wick and they feature some of the best the business has to offer. I'm curious if 'Monkey Man' can stand on its own but from what I've seen so far I'm positive it can.

[PandaPawPaw]

[laagi]

I hate Fallon, he's a damn schmuck but that's just me. But good interview.

 

[PandaPawPaw]

36 minutes ago, laagi said:

I hate Fallon, he's a damn schmuck but that's just me. But good interview.

 

I can't watch that due to Mr laughs his tits off over anything Fallon! Guy does my fucking head in! Conan is the best.

[thundered mantis]

Mmm it seems to me a lot of punches in the trailer are CGIfied. It puts me off the action, not as bad as the new Road House, but a similar vibe. If it's gonna be the way of action I fear it will rob me the things that build my connection with the cinematic fighting choreo. Not real abilities display, no care nor reflection for physics of the combat and art to present it to us, to edit, to place the camera so we can be into it, to serve a credible amped experience. Dunno. 

[laagi]

4 hours ago, thundered mantis said:

Mmm it seems to me a lot of punches in the trailer are CGIfied. It puts me off the action, not as bad as the new Road House, but a similar vibe. If it's gonna be the way of action I fear it will rob me the things that build my connection with the cinematic fighting choreo. Not real abilities display, no care nor reflection for physics of the combat and art to present it to us, to edit, to place the camera so we can be into it, to serve a credible amped experience. Dunno. 

Interesting you mention this. I personally didn't notice any of the sort AT ALL and I'm pretty good in spotting these kind of things usually. It looked pretty realistic as well afaic! Still one of my most anticipated of the year. Gonna see it next week asap.

[thundered mantis]

9 hours ago, laagi said:

Interesting you mention this. I personally didn't notice any of the sort AT ALL and I'm pretty good in spotting these kind of things usually. It looked pretty realistic as well afaic! Still one of my most anticipated of the year. Gonna see it next week asap.

I watched the trailer on a bad phone, on a bad lighting context, I may very well be wrong. I thought there was CGI on the final part of the kitchen fight, also on an axe bit (that is totally logic I must concede) and in some impacts on a sort of tournament fight (not in the kick to the Ong Bak 2 giant though). 

Maybe I am overreacting as I watched Road House yesterday and I didn't like the path it shows for future action films

Edited March 31 by thundered mantis

[DarthKato]

I'll be going to see it in the theater when it comes out. I hope it turns out being as good as it looks. 

[laagi]

I couldn't wait and took a 2 hour journey (return) just to go out and watch this on opening night.

I urge every self respecting member to go out and buy a ticket for 'Monkey Man'. It's a fantastic film and deserves every little bit of praise it receives!

The film has heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears and passion. But more importantly an engaging story and one worth telling. Something that is sorely missing from a lot of these modern action movies. BTW, this needs to go in the 'Modern Martial Arts' section!

Dev Patel's directorial debut just oozes with love for the genre. It's also amazing that (on paper) a simple revenge story casually tackles issues like religion, patriarchy, poverty and even sexuality (transgender) and never comes across as forced or preachy. Other movies spend 2 hours and don't have half the impact 'Monkey Man' has!

The action is violent and visceral and I loved every second of it. Now it uses quite a bit of shaky cam and the camera more often than not is pretty close to the action. But here it didn't bother me at all!

Jordan Peele made the right call to make this a cinematic experience. Unfortunately during my screening we were only 6 people in a 200 seat theater. I hope that's not an indication for a bad box office return.

Last but not least I'm sure people can't help themselves and ultimately will draw comparisons to John Wick. Heck, Patel even put a easter egg in 'Monkey Man'. But to me this film can very well stand on its own. And honestly I'm gonna be so bold and say it, I'll take 'Moneky Man' any time of day over 'John Wick'.

Don't get me wrong 'John Wick' is great but to me it always lacked a compelling story. Yes the action is top-notch but after 4 parts it feels like the McDonald's of action movies. That's not a bad thing at all! At least you know what you get.

'Monkey Man' on the other hand is like that small family owned restaurant that just puts their heart and soul into providing you with something you love!

Edited April 5 by laagi

[DarthKato]

Well, I went and saw it today and I thought it was pretty good. the action was excellent, and I was invested in the story. I noticed there was probably a message mixed in somewhere, but it didn't take me out of the movie like some movies do. It wasn't preachy, as @laagimentioned. You could also see that in had its inspiration on its shoulder. John Wick was all over this movie, in my opinion.

Spoiler

From the look of the main character (especially at the end), to him taking care of a dog, and even mentioning the movie by name at one point. It really felt like a homage to that film series, even more so than something like "Nobody", which felt more like a little boy trying to be as cool as his older brother. 

So yeah, great movie, that I highly recommend. I'm giving it a 5/5. Check it out for goodness's sake! 

 

Oh, and @laagi, funny enough, my theater also only had like 5-6 people in it. So, I guess a lot of people are just being turned off from this movie for some reason. Thats a real shame too. It's really damn good. 

[laagi]

10 hours ago, DarthKato said:

Oh, and @laagi, funny enough, my theater also only had like 5-6 people in it. So, I guess a lot of people are just being turned off from this movie for some reason. Thats a real shame too. It's really damn good. 

I've spoken to a local distributor the movie was previously attached. He literally told me that he's happy Universal nabbed 'Monkey Man' because it's going to be a colossal box office failure.

Why? Well he was pretty blunt about it, nobody wants to see and indian guy starring in an action movie! Regardless whether it's good or not. Guess times haven't changed have they!?

To me it almost feels like a Bruce Lee type of situation. Dev Patel is too western for indian audiences and too indian for western audiences. It's a damn shame should this turn out to be the reason! Let's hope it's not.

Edited April 6 by laagi

[PandaPawPaw]

4 hours ago, laagi said:

I've spoken to a rep of a distributor the movie was previously attached to over here. He literally told me that he's happy Universal nabbed 'Monkey Man' from them because it's going to be a colossal box office failure.

Why? Well he was pretty blunt about it, nobody wants to see and indian guy starring in an action movie regardless whether it's good or not. Guess times haven't changed have they!?

To me it almost feels like a Bruce Lee type of situation. Dev Patel is too western for indian audiences and too indian for western audiences. It's a damn shame should this turn out to be the reason! Let's hope it's not.

He's more Indian than Rishi Sunak and the Indian people (apparently) love him.

And being an Indian person myself, Patel is not too Indian/western for me he's

(whatever that means)

Edited April 6 by PandaPawPaw

[laagi]

On 3/22/2024 at 3:42 PM, Drunken Monk said:

Dev Patel has refused to cater to journalists calling this film similar to John Wick. He said in a recent interview that he's far more influenced by Sammo Hung, John Woo, Jet Li and Korean cinema (which he loves).

Fun fact the JW stunt crew was actually attached to this project for quite some time but had to drop out due to the pandemic. And I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it, I don't think that's such a bad thing. There's a reason why these movies all feel and look the same when it comes to the action!

[PandaPawPaw]

Am I right in saying the movie in all in English? Non of it is in Hindi?

[laagi]

8 minutes ago, PandaPawPaw said:

Am I right in saying the movie in all in English? Non of it is in Hindi?

They have Hindi (I think) in it from time to time. Especially during the flashback scenes.

[laagi]

@PandaPawPaw also lots of Hindi cursing. I learned a lot Thank you movie!

[sym8]

Decent movie with some good action,my only complaint was that it took some time to get where it was going and the pacing was a bit off at times,but well worth checking out.👍👍👍