Watch “Monkey Man” on a cellphone or an iPad and you’ll see that’s how director Dev Patel envisioned it.
Otherwise, how do you explain the tight close-ups?
Almost claustrophobic in approach, the action film goes in for the kill repeatedly. When it’s not, it’s rushing through subtitles that explain what’s happening.
In short, there’s no time to rest.
Patel plays a masked fighter (thus the film’s title) who earns money taking falls for others. He’s also a smart worker who worms his way into situations that will get him into proximity with power.
Alternating current events with his childhood, Patel paves the way for a “John Wick”-like story of revenge. (And, yes, there’s even a dog here.)
“Monkey Man,” however, is eager to dissect the class system in India and show how an impressionable boy can be driven to do just about anything.
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