Monkey Man follows the story of ‘Kid’ who fights to lose in an underground fight club where night after night, he is battered while wearing a gorilla mask. This until his suppressed rage makes him hunt down a couple of folks who had contributed to his childhood trauma featuring his mother. The story here is essentially a simple revenge drama which treads the line of being predictable to the core. The drama doesn’t have a novelty factor associated with it, in fact it would remind you of the Hindi cult film Agneepath that did follow a similar idea at its core. But it is superseded by some solid treatment featuring some splendid action set-pieces while lacing the story with solid political undertones and bouts of mythology that ensures that the runtime of just over 2 hours does feel taut and thrilling. I must add that I don’t see the unfiltered version of the film releasing in India(although it is slated for release this weekend) because it captures the current political climate of the country rather accurately(although just on the surface without going deep). 

First things first – you need to forego your inhibitions about the setting of the drama. The said city is ‘Mumbai’ but it did not seem like it, almost warranting a fantasy city on the lines of Mumbai. So, if you can look past it, you should be just fine! The drama opens with the introduction of a young protagonist who is shown to listen to the story of Lord Hanuman from his mother. The mother-son bond is well established very early on in the film, something that would later act as a foundation for the things to follow. The drama almost immediately cuts to a later timeline wherein the now grownup protagonist finds himself in the middle of a ring wearing a Monkey Mask while being paid to be battered and lose in a fight. Almost as a parallel track, you see the protagonist enquiring about one of the characters while trying to get a job at a luxury brothel. The mystery surrounding his childhood is soon put to light wherein you get acquainted with the fact that this is a revenge saga! 

The proceedings are engaging particularly because of the way in which the film is presented. This is less to do with its writing which is pretty basic and on the surface, particularly in the first hour wherein you are well versed with the motive of the protagonist. So even as the protagonist makes his way through multiple characters to get a hold of his nemesis, you are mostly invested due to the neon frames gracing the screen coupled with some emaculate action sequences. There are mythological references interspersed in the drama which are good, and add a underlying layer of drawing parallels with the Ramayana(and more importantly, Lord Hanuman) and Ardhanarishvara. But the part wherein the film truly gets controversial is its political commentary that it chooses to address! 

I was pleasantly surprised as to how accurately the writers have understood the political landscape of the country. The commentary here is definitely on the surface and doesn’t get deep into the issue(while the focus solely remains on the revenge angle). But atleast it was a start and a refreshing perspective from the films of the other spectrum that did spew venom on celluloid. And this commentary definitely elevates the film in an otherwise underdog drama utilizing a standard revenge template. The events leading up to the final are routine but the makers back it with stunning action setpieces that consistently hold your attention. The final face-off is pretty routine from a writing standpoint but the mesmerizing frames had me sold with its ending. The screenplay is decently well written while being predictable yet ably superseded by style that rescues an unsteady ship.