Monkey Man

Tropic Sprockets by Ian Brockway

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Actor Dev Patel has his directorial debut in “Monkey Man,” a kind of homage to the action films of Bruce Lee and Keanu Reeves. It also is an interpretation of the Hanuman god in Hinduism.

Bobby has a chip on his shoulder and very rightly so: his mother was murdered in front of him during a fascistic slaughter of the lower caste.

During boxing matches, Bobby is beaten almost numb. This is a kind of physical and psychological punishment for him as he feels guilty for his mother’s death. Repeatedly pummeled, he is unemployable. One day, he sees a job for kitchen work. He takes it. To his horror, he learns that the head man is Rana (Sikander Kher), the one who brutally murdered his mother (Adithi Kalkunte). At the sight of Rana, Bobby becomes a man enraged by blood and fire, as if he is a Wolfman in the old Universal horror films.

Patel has charisma and screen presence. He portrays vulnerability as well as the aura of a matinee idol. The Hanuman backstory is also intriguing with rich details as to the God’s origin.

The best part of the film features a group of hijras, feminine-identified people assigned male at birth who come to Bobby’s aid. The hijras are vivid, compelling, and entertaining. The sequence speaks for absolute inclusion in the country of India.

For the most part, however, the film is chock full of murky cinematography and such pulpy images of blood, the action and story become routine. The spirit of “John Wick” pervades over all here along with “Death Wish.” Whenever there is a mirror, a pitcher or a bottle shown, you can count on it being smashed to smithereens, but it would be better if the bottles had genies. This is a film that mixes “Man on Fire” with Masala. Patel is engaging and likable, but his Jekyll and Hyde role is not enough to quell the torrents of epileptic flashing and hyperactive bloodshed.

Write Ian at ianfree11@yahoo.com