4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Review: MONKEY MAN

Home » 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Review: MONKEY MAN

Jun 23 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

As a child, Kid (Dev Patel) was told the Icarus-like tale of half-human/half-monkey god Hanuman, who got too close to the sun and was punished by the gods. After witnessing a devastating tragedy as a child, Kid took this story to heart. Now, as a young man, he dons the mask and persona of Monkey Man, fighting in a brutal underground fight club, where he’s usually told by promoter Tiger (Sharlto Copley) to purposely take the fall. However, the fighting has really just been training for what is to come. He is determined to get his revenge against the wealthy, powerful and corrupt people responsible for what happened in his past.

Kid sets his plan in motion by infiltrating the Kings Club, an elite hangout for the rich and powerful to buy drinks, drugs and sex. He gets a job as a dishwasher, but knows he’s going to need to quickly get promoted if he’s going to gain access to those in the more exclusive parts of the club. The manager of the Kings Club is teh ruthless Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar), who often mistreats the victimized young women she rents out for sex. This includes Sita (Sobhita Dhulipala), a good-hearted young women whose unfortunate circumstances led her here. One of the club’s regular attendees is corrupt Police Chief Rana Singh (Sikandar Kher), who is Kid’s primary target. However, as much as he has planned for this moment, Kid has underestimated the resolve of his enemies, and soon realizes that this quest for revenge may not be quite as easy as he originally thought.

While Monkey Man’s thirst for vengeance is the primary focus of the film, we also have a couple other concurrent stories which ultimately come together. There’s an important election underway in India, and one of the men backing the more conservative/controversial Sovereign Party candidate is spiritual leader Baba Shakti (Makarand Deshpande)—who is much more ruthless and gangster than his peaceful and loving public persona lets on. Meanwhile, the government has been trying to stamp out the trans community, forcing the hijra to go underground, living in a ruined temple. However, when their leader, Alpha (Vipin Sharma), learns that even that safe haven is in danger of going away, he believes that Monkey Man may be the hero they need.

Dev Patel is quite impressive both in front of and behind the camera of this film. Not only has he managed to turn himself into an Indian John Wick, but the movie looks very stylized and is creatively shot. Much like John Wick, the focus of the movie is on a bloody quest for revenge, with a single man in a black suit using whatever weapon is on hand to brutally take down a roomful of enemies. Whether it’s a gun, fireworks, a knife, or even just his hands and feet, Kid is able to adapt to any situation. While he doesn’t have any formal combat training, he’s honed his skills in the fighting ring, and is fueled by rage and a thirst for revenge. The action sequences are fast-paced, intense and often quite bloody. The action both inside and outside the ring is quite immersive, putting the viewer right in the middle of the fights, or in Kid’s POV. Some of these fight and chase sequences are presented as oners, which adds even more excitement to the scenes. When I first saw this film in the theater, I found some of these tight and fast moving camera shots to be a bit too much, or made it confusing to tell what was actually happening. However, while re-watching at home, I didn’t really have the same experience.

Dev Patel is a true action hero, bringing not only the physicality to the role, but also selling you on the heart of this character. Kid faces off with some truly evil enemies, and Sikandar Kher is perfectly cast as the most menacing of them all, Rana Singh, the corrupt cop who was at the heart of the incident that set Kid on this path of vengeance. He makes a formidable physical opponent for Kid.

The film also explores themes of class, wealth and power. Monkey Man is fighting for those who are being oppressed and silenced. Not only is he trying to get revenge against those who caused a tragic loss in his past —the full nature of what happened is slowly revealed over flashbacks during the first half of the film—but he’s also fighting for people like Alpha and the hijra, who are being marginalized by these same wealthy and corrupt people in power.

While the film is filled with lots of drama and action, there’s also quite of bit of humor. Bringing a lot of comic relief to the film is the character of Alphonso (Pitobash), a slightly higher-up man who works at the club, who becomes a sort of friend to Kid. At one point, he shows Kid his decked out tuk-tuk, which he calls Nicki Minaj because of its “big bumper and nice headlights”. Alphonso unwittingly gets sucked into Kid’s revenge plan, and we eventually see a really fun and exciting The Fast & The Furious style chase in this rickshaw.

Universal’s 4K release of Monkey Man looks and sounds amazing. The film is really creatively shot, seamlessly blending footage from various sources to constantly keep up the energy and make things fast-paced. The picture primarily looks quite crisp and clean with an excellent level of detail throughout. There are some scenes that are more gritty, but this is a stylistic choice, which helps show the contrasting worlds of the rich and the marginalized. The 4K disc offers HDR color grading, which really helps enhance the purple glow of the Kings Club, the green tones of the club bathroom (where one of the most tense fights occurs), the blood red tones of Shakti’s penthouse, and other stylistic color palettes, making them really pop. Even during some of the film’s darker sequences, such as Kid at the ruined temple, the picture remains quite clear and detailed.

The audio track provides clear dialogue throughout, showcases the film’s excellent soundtrack, and provides a fully immersive experience. The latter is especially noticeable during the action sequences, and during a scene early on when Kid is in the market to get a gun and we can hear the sounds of the crowds, insects and animals all around.

The 4K release includes both a 4K and a Blu-ray disc, which are packed on either side of a standard 4K keepcase, along with an embossed carboard slipcover, and an insert containing a code to redeem for a 4K MA digital copy of the film. The bonus material can only be found on the Blu-ray disc, and consists of a filmmaker commentary, 30 minutes of deleted/alternate/extended scenes, and almost 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and crew.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:01:36)

2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
HDR10
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
Subtitles: English SDH, French

Blu-ray:

1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
Subtitles: English SDH, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 6/30/2025):

4K Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:
All of the bonus material (including the commentary) can only be found on the Blu-ray disc. Play All, or select from:

Alternate Opening (3:58)
In this alternate version, it is a warden who reads the story of reads the legend of Hanuman to the young Kid.
Alternate Ending (2:45)
The camera pans from the streets through the carnage in the building as we hear the voice of a child whispering prayers, and finally end up with Kid looking at the painting of Hanuman before collapsing.
Deleted/Extended Scenes (22:34)
Collection of 6 deleted/extended scenes. Play All, or select from:
- True Shakti (3:28)
  Baba Shakti meets with the Minister, for whom the meeting doesn’t end well.
- Mother’s Death (4:17)
  Extended cut of Kid witnessing his mother’s murder.
- Training Montage (8:31)
  Extended cut of Monkey Man training and regaining his strength as a tabla player beats the drums, and the hijras cheer him on.
- Lucky Kid (:52)
  Extended cut of the boy Lucky giving Monkey Man his winnings after cashing out a bet on the fight.
- Alphonso Death (4:21)
  Rana tortures and kills Alphonso in an interrogation room when he won’t give a straight answer about Monkey Man’s whereabouts.
- Post Credit Button (1:04)
  Tiger announces the return of Monkey Man to the ring.
A Labor of Love (8:44)
The cast and crew discuss how the project came about, shooting during the pandemic, filming in Batam, Indonesia instead of India, Dev Patel’s directorial process, bringing on Jordan Peele as a producer, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/co-writer/producer Dev Patel (“Kid”), producers Jomon Thomas, Jordan Peele & Ian Cooper, and actors Sikandar Kher (“Rana”), Ashwini Kalsekar (“Queenie”), Makarand Deshpande (“Baba Shakti”), Pitobash (“Alphonso”) & Sobhita Dhulipala (“Sita”).
Monkey Man of Action (8:35)
The cast and crew discuss the film’s action sequences, and heightened violence, finding a local stunt team, utilizing a stunt person to help film the action, training for the fight sequences, bringing in the wrestling for a new way to fight, filming the tuk-tuk chase scene, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producers Jordan Peele, Ian Cooper, Jomon Thomas, Erica Lee & Win Rosenfeld, director/star/co-writer/producer Dev Patel.
Fateful Encounters (7:21)
The cast and crew discuss the film’s various good and bad characters. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/star/co-writer/producer Dev Patel, producers Ian Cooper & Jomon Thomas, and stars Makarand Deshpande, Ashwini Kalsekar, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikandar Kher, Vipin Sharma & Pitobash.
Roots Exposed (3:02)
The filmmakers discuss the cultural and folklore roots integrated into the film, such as the tale of the Hindu half-human/half-monkey god Hanuman. Includes interviews with producers Jomon Thomas & Ian Cooper, and director/star/co-writer/producer Dev Patel.
Feature Commentary (2:01:36)
Director/Actor/Writer/Producer Dev Patel, Producers Jomon Thomas and Sam Sahni, and Co-Producer Raghuvir Joshi provide an entertaining and informative commentary throughout the film. They talk about the various challenges they faced making the movie, and discuss the themes, characters, actor, filming locations, and more. They share lots of fun and interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the production, point out Easter eggs, homages to other films, cameos and more. There is a lot of discussion about how different scenes were shot, and money-saving techniques and camera tricks that were utilized. It’s an excellent commentary that’s worth a listen.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Highly Recommended

Fans of more bloody and brutal action movies like John Wick, will be sure to enjoy Monkey Man. Dev Patel proves himself to be quite the action hero as well as a very talented first-time director. While some of the Indian folklore and cultural commentary may go over the head of Western viewers, this is not really important to understand in order to still fully enjoy the story and visual spectacle. At the core is a story of a man out for revenge, while also fighting for the marginalized. The film is filled with lots of exciting action/fight sequences, interesting character drama, and some fun humorous moments. This is certainly worth checking out—I think I actually enjoyed it even more the second time around. Universal’s 4K release looks and sounds amazing, and includes some excellent bonus material, especially the filmmaker commentary. For those on the fence about a blind buy, the film is currently streaming on Peacock if you want to check it out first.