Monkey Man (Collector’s Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Dev Patel

Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash

Release Date: June 25, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

From producer Jordan Peele comes Oscar® nominee Dev Patel’s astonishing tour-de-force directorial debut, inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage. Patel stars as a man with no name, scarred by a brutal childhood, who ekes out a meager living in underground fighting rings. But when he finds a way to rise up and infiltrate his city’s corrupt elite, he kicks off an explosive campaign for retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him as a boy. Channeling the rage of the poor and powerless, an unexpected hero emerges in this fight-filled action epic.

‘Monkey Man’ tells the story of an unnamed man who struggles to make ends meet by participating in brutal underground fight rings where he dons a monkey mask and isn’t unwilling to take a fall to make a few extra bucks. But when he is presented with an opportunity to get his foot into the higher ranks of the city’s population he begins to orchestrate a plan to get even with the corrupt higher ups responsible for taking everything from him as a child. Beginning at the bottom of the chain as an employee, he begins to ignite a fight that could have the potential to finally crumble these corrupt forces.

Directed by Dev Patel from a screenplay written by Dev Patel and Paul Angunawela and John Collee, and from a story by Dev Patel, Patel does a great job at the helm of ‘Monkey Man’ which marks his feature length directorial debut, guiding along the brutal and riveting tale with heart and style. The film’s cast includes Dev Patel (The Green Knight), Sharlto Copley (Hardcore Henry), Pitobash (TV’s Metro Park), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai) and more who each contribute solid and fitting performances for the most part in their respective roles.

‘Monkey Man’ delivers an intense and captivating journey into darkness as one man fights for vengeance against a collection of powerful and protected individuals that took everything from him as a young boy. A gritty and at times uncompromising tale of revenge and one man who is unwilling to adhere to the social guidelines in his hometown of India or ignore those who repeatedly take from those less fortunate while answering to no one. Peppered with beauty, heart and some absolutely dazzling fight sequences throughout, ‘Monkey Man’ is a heartfelt look at the underdog who refuses to let those with power repeatedly do wrong and escape justice. It perfectly captures the grimy and poverty-torn community that the man resides in as well as the drastic differences between classes within and one thrilling chase sequence throughout the nighttime streets highlights much of the world while keeping your blood pumping every step of the way.

There’s a clear sense of purpose, suffering and hope to Patel’s tale and while the story, characters and nearly everything else within are on point, the unique approach to the fight sequences often stands out as Patel and his team repeatedly find clever and gorgeous ways to shoot the showdowns, from utilizing point of view shots one moment to following a blade as it’s whipped about the next and the one thing they all have in common is that they’re truly breathtaking in their presentation while simultaneously thrilling in their brutality.

Overall, ‘Monkey Man’ is a riveting and powerful tale of vengeance and fighting for the underdog that features some visually spectacular action sequences and a surprising amount of heart at times, all beautifully guided along by Dev Patel who not only makes his directorial debut but also co-writes and provides a stellar performance in the lead role on top of it. It may borrow some concepts and ideas to a degree but as a whole delivers a largely original and emotionally rich story that’s a treat to follow and almost certain to get under your skin on occasion. ‘Monkey Man’ is highly recommended for any fans of Patel’s who are certain to appreciate his impressive work on both sides of the camera as well as anyone that might already be intrigued by the film. The film is incredibly well done and definitely worth taking the time to give a chance.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Monkey Man’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks very good as a whole and offers a richly detailed presentation from start to finish that’s absent of any troubles or faults to be found throughout. Detail is sharp and solid, noticeable on character faces, clothing and the city streets as well as the various interiors both in the lower end areas and in the fancier locations, while the HDR-10 addition provides some more realistic colors visible along the way that stand out on certain pieces of clothing, vehicles and the light of clubs, kitchens and more. Overall, this is a solid Ultra High Definition video presentation that holds up capably throughout and shouldn’t have any trouble pleasing fans or newcomers.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is a lot of fun itself and serves up a clean, crisp and quite aggressive audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send action effects, along with music, vehicle activity and nature effects, plus plenty more consistently seeping throughout the various speakers, while always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean, sharp and fully audible. Overall, this is a great Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that contributes nicely to the tension and excitement of the viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Monkey Man’ includes a nice collection of extras that fans of the film should appreciate, although the entirety of the bonus content including the audio commentary is only included on the Blu-ray disc here. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director/Actor/Writer/Producer Dev Patel, Producers Jomon Thomas and Sam Sahni, and Co-Producer Raghuvir Joshi’, in addition to an ‘Alternate Opening’ (running approximately 4 minutes in length), ‘Alternate Ending’ (running approximately 3 minutes) and a collection of ‘Deleted/Extended Scenes’ (approximately 22 minutes altogether) from the movie. Also included are some Behind the Scenes Featurettes that include interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more; they include ‘A Labor of Love’ (running approximately 9 minutes), ‘Monkey Man of Action’ (approximately 8 minutes), ‘Fateful Encounters’ (7 minutes) and ‘Roots Exposed’ (3 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘Monkey Man’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase your copy of ‘Monkey Man’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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