We already knew Oscar nominee Dev Patel (The Green Knight) was wildly talented. We did not previously know that those talents extended to directing a new action movie that, if the trailer is anything to go by, can stand up to just about anything in the action landscape. Patel plays an anonymous young man who scrapes out a living while seeking to avenge his mother’s murder.
That makes it sound fairly mild, but this trailer is anything but! Patel uses his fists, sure, but also a microwave oven and a fish tank (sorry, fish) to take out his enemies. He also has a truly delightful moment with a window that’s much stronger than most action-movie windows.
Here’s the synopsis:
Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.
After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Patel is star and director and co-writer; he has story credit, and wrote the screenplay with John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) and Paul Angunawela. The cast includes Sharlto Copley (District 9), Sobhita Dhulipala (The Night Manager), Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai), Adithi Kalkunte (Hotel Mumbai), and Sikandar Kher (Sense8).
Monkey Man was set for a Netflix release, but fate—in the form of producer Jordan Peele—intervened. The Hollywood Reporter says, “Insiders say Peele had a chance to see the movie, and was so taken with Patel’s vision that he believed it deserved a theatrical release. Universal will market and distribute Monkey Man through its feature film deal with Peele’s Monkeypaw banner. The film has been described as akin to John Wick in Mumbai.”
Monkey Man is in theaters on April 5th.
