Monkey Man

For what it is, it's quite effective and Patel is a credible action hero.

Over-the-top violence is rarely this much fun. First time directors are rarely this skillful.

Brutal, bone-crunching, neck-gouging set pieces, some great musical choices...

Dev Patel tries too hard, and for too much, in his directorial debut, but he's compelling enough to make you believe almost anything.

Monkey Man is not perfect, but it does not have to be. The film feels alive, with all the rush of Drive or Uncut Gems. This is not Bollywood — nobody sings — but rhythm is key.

Monkey Man doesn’t reinvent the revenge movie wheel exactly, but it does cover it with so much blood that you can barely see where the wheel ends and the pile of knife-perforated henchmen begins.

Monkey Man boasts a unique identity and bold originality to its epicness that cannot be compared to any other revenge thriller.

Monkey Man doesn’t come across as merely a rehash of other movies. Part of it has to do with that cool gorilla mask – which lends a sinister mystery to the character and can be seen as representing the hidden volatile side of, perhaps, all of us.

Dev Patel must have felt as if he’d gone the full ten rounds himself in trying to get this project off the ground, yet the end result was worth it.

Patel applies meaningful shadings to what’s basically a stylish revenge flick.