As with every SXSW film, you have to take the reviews coming out of that festival with a major grain of salt. The audiences, and critics, who attend the Austin-based festival love to dish out positive reviews left and right.
With that said, Dev Patel’s “Monkey Man” has sprung to a semi-good start. The action movie had its world premiere last night and there’s some positive ink coming in from Screen, HeyUGuys, Slash Film, IndieWire and The Film Stage.
Whereas, The Playlist, The Daily Beast, THR, The Guardian and Collider are more mixed about the film. So, it does look as though this one won’t be breaking any new cinematic ground, but it could still, potentially, be a fun time at the movies. The film is being compared, in many of these reviews, to “John Wick” and “The Raid.”
Speaking at the premiere, Patel said, “I put everything into this, I shot this film in the biggest slum in India, Covid hit, and the film went down. Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. And then Jordan came along in the end, he picked up from the ground, he brushed the dust off and put it on the mantel piece.”
It should be noted that, during production, Patel broke his hand, two toes, tore his shoulder and got an eye infection while filming “Monkey Man.” He quite literally poured blood, sweat and tears into this passion project of his.
Last year, original distributor, Netflix gave away “Monkey Man” to Jordan Peele and his Monkey Paw production company, who hopped onboard the film, teaming with Universal. A trailer was unveiled in January. The film is now due for theatrical release on April 5.
So, what happened exactly? “Monkey Man” was shot and completed in 2021, and Netflix soon after acquired the rights for around $30 million, but it’s been on the shelf for three years and they‘ve all of a sudden decided to get rid of it? What gives?
In January, I had exclusively reported that it was the portrayal of a fictional right-wing Hindu Nationalist character in the film that worried Netflix about their future dealings in India. And even though they had paid more than twice the production cost, they decided to give the film back to the producers, which is part of what caused the long delay.
“Monkey Man” stars Patel and Sharlto Copley (“District 9”) and centers on a recently released ex-felon living in India, who “struggles to adjust to a world of corporate greed and eroding spiritual values”. It is being described by some as “John Wick in Mumbai.”