Dev Patel's revenge thriller Monkey Man took the long road to get to theaters. Originally planned for Netflix, Jordan Peele bought the rights to the film, distributing it through his Monkeypaw Productions. Finished in 2021, the ultra-violent flick marks Dev Patel's directorial debut. In the new featurette below, he declares the movie is a tribute to directors like Park Chan-wook and Quentin Tarantino, and owes a debt to his favorite genre films of the past.
Producer Jomon Thomas had nothing but praise for Patel, who also starred and did many of his own stunts. Like Tom Cruise before him, Patel broke bones while filming scenes. On separate occasions, he broke a foot and a hand, with one injury requiring a helicopter flight to a hospital. This doesn't come off as bragging, just as serious devotion to the craft. It took my excitement for the movie to another level.
Monkey Man is now playing in theaters.
About Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about.
I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague.
Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work.
In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo.
I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.
