Monkey Man

Monkey Man promised so much through the electrifying trailer, but unfortunately I was left thoroughly underwhelmed.

For me this is primarily for one reason. The action was so poorly shot which is such an unforgivable sin for me. It was full of jarring cuts, shaky camera work, and disorientating pans and whips. Dev Patel clearly wanted a very kinetic and vibrant approach but it just wasn't executed well for me. This is such a shame as when the camera work did settle down the action was violent and gritty and could have been something really special. The stunt work all looked good, it just wasn't presented well at all.

In terms of the story there isn't much to complain about. I've seen so many films of this ilk and Monkey Man doesn't necessarily stand out too much. Some side plots and characters added a little variety, but ultimately the story was fairly generic. Nothing great but nothing awful.

Then there was the lead performance from Dev Patel which again I was left a tad underwhelmed by. He's a brilliant actor and considering he was directing I thought he'd really shine in this project, but he just failed to really draw me in as something was missing from his performance. None of the other characters were developed enough to particularly comment on their performances.

One of the strengths of the film though is probably the look of the whole thing. There are some good creative choices in the sets, lighting etc, that do create a vibrancy and energy which worked well.

With so many great films in this genre like John Wick, Taken, Nobody etc, there needed to be something in this film to really stand out. Unfortunately nothing did, resulting in a resoundingly mediocre affair.