Step into a world where vengeance fuels the heart, and heroism is not just a choice, but a destiny etched in blood. This Surprise Saturday, we strip away the frills, skipping our usual intro music, to bring you straight into the gritty streets and intense drama of 'Monkey Man'. Directed by and starring the immensely talented Dev Patel, this film turns the action genre on its head, much like our protagonist vaults through his enemies. Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, and Vipin Sharma round out a stellar cast that brings depth and ferocity to this tale of a young man's relentless quest for retribution after the heart-wrenching murder of his mother.
Feel the punches and wince at the blows in this no-holds-barred discussion that pits 'Monkey Man' against action giants like 'John Wick'. We marvel at Patel's directorial prowess in crafting fight scenes that are as authentic as they are jaw-dropping. And it's not just about brawn; the struggle of Patel's character to hone his fighting skills from scratch adds a layer of realism to the revenge narrative. Acting chops abound in this cinematic gem, proving that a film can be both adrenaline-inducing and emotionally resonant. Join us for a podcast episode that, much like the movie it celebrates, is compelling, well-executed, and relentlessly engaging.
Speaker 1:
Hello everyone and welcome to the first official Surprise Saturday episode. I say this is the first official one because if you follow our social media platforms, you realize I did not post a quick reaction video. But you might have seen that this is the first official, actual surprise saturday episode and it's such a new way of doing things that I didn't even do an intro music. I just started the podcast like that. And here's your last hint the official last hint of what I'll be talking about this episode. Close your eyes and you will find yourself.
Speaker 1:
When I was a boy, my mother used to tell me a story of a demon king and his army. They brought fire and terror to the land until they faced the protector of the people, the white monkey. There you are. You are a beast In this city. The rich don't see us as people. Give me the job no one wants to do. I'll do it. Anyone who forgets their place. It doesn't turn out well for them. This is not the place to work if you can't handle that sort of stuff. Deva, every day I've prayed for a way to protect the weak. I've got an answer to every prayer. I call her Nikki Minaj. Big bumper, nice headlights, let's boogie, I'm not gonna let you go. I'm not gonna let you go. I'm not gonna let you go. No, you need to fight For your mother, for all of us, and there will not quiet your soul. My son Don't call me son. It's time to remember. This is a big wrap. It's time to remember who you are. But only love kills, war wins. Will they learn? Just one small ember can burn down everything. I love you. Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for a fight? One, two, three.
Speaker 1:
I'm talking about Monkey man, the new action packed movie starring and directed by dev patel. This is a kind of it kind of reminded me of john wick when I first saw the trailer, and so I was intrigued by it, because I'm a big fan of john wick. So I wanted to go see this movie, but before I can dive even more into it, I have to go over the synopsis. Monkey man is about an anonymous young man who unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless. Like I said, monkey man stars Dev Patel. It also stars Sharto Kopley, pito Bash and Vipin Sharma. So this movie is about, like the synopsis said, a young man who witnessed the brutal murder of his mother and grows up to take revenge on those people.
Speaker 1:
So first off, my biggest like is the action in this movie. Oh my goodness, dev Patel does a great job of directing the action scenes. Just everything about this is very well directed. I think he needs to do more action movies because he really has an eye of how to show, like, the intensity of the fight scenes.
Speaker 1:
Another thing I liked, even though at first I wasn't a big fan of it, but I actually appreciated the fact that this character that he plays doesn't necessarily know how to fight at first. You know it's not like John Wick where he automatically knows how to fight. But obviously John Wick had had years of training under his belt. But this character is starting off his revenge story pretty weak. You know he's a fighter. He calls himself kong or monkey man in the ring. You know, does like ufc boxing kind of stuff and he's pretty bad at fighting and and there's even a first big fight scene where he actually kind of loses in a way. But I actually appreciated the fact that he didn't know how to fight 100% right out the gate, and so that I thought was very well done. He wrote this movie, dev Patel wrote this movie as well.
Speaker 1:
Dev Patel wrote this movie as well, and I think the acting all over the board was just really good surprisingly good for an action film. You know, you don't usually go to these movies to see good acting, and I think the acting was very well done. The story was compelling and everything was very, very well directed, as I stated before, and so those are my biggest likes, I the action was great, the acting was very good. My biggest dislike and I know I'm probably gonna get some hate from some people, um, who listen, I don't know, but there is a big old check the box moment.
Speaker 1:
So this movie is, in Dave Patel's own words, is about the underdog, the marginalized. You know, the look down upon all that stuff. Well, there is a moment where he is escaping a fight and he is running across a rooftop and he gets shot yes, I'm going to spoil some stuff, I apologize and he gets shot and he falls and it's like it would be, you know, the kind of shot that would kill anybody but he's picked up by a group of people who live in a temple. There's like a brief moment where a news station talks about the the brute, the brutal beatings of transgender people in the community, and so he gets picked up by a group of transgender people who bring him back and even kind of semi-train him to become this fighter. So I'm sitting there watching this movie and this comes out of nowhere, this whole what I call the transgender temple of warriors and I'll get spit upon and beaten.
Speaker 1:
And I'm not saying I agree with how some people treat the transgender community. I'm not agreeing with that whatsoever. So I don't want anyone listening to this to think that I was disappointed, that you know he was trying to help these people not get beaten up. That's not what I'm saying at all. What I'm saying is I didn't understand and why it needed to be in there. You know it's just like these other movies that I've reviewed in the past, that katie and I have both reviewed in the past. We understand that how important it is to have representation, but to have it in almost every single thing that is shown nowadays, I feel like there's there's no, there's nothing. There's like few and far between movies nowadays that do not have anything transgender, gay or anything like that, and I don't understand. And that's all I'm going to say about that because I know there's going to be people listening to this. Maybe that we'll just stop listening to the show altogether because of my thoughts on this one movie. I just thought I I didn't understand it.
Speaker 1:
And so later on in the movie he's fighting these groups of people because he learns how to fight because of the transgender temple of warriors and that's kind of their backstory. They used to be these warrior people, apparently, and when he leaves the temple he leaves them a note and I thought it was kind of funny what the note said. Um, it says remember who you are. Yeah, I'm not going to dive into why. I thought that was kind of ironic that he was leaving in that note. And so he's finding these groups of people and then there's even more people that show up and he's, like you know, standing there wondering how he's going to do this. And then the, the transgender warriors, show up wearing dresses and they start beating up people and, you know, killing them and stuff. I just I don't know.
Speaker 1:
But I will say that the fight scenes again were very well done, very well choreographed, pretty awesome stuff in this movie, very over the top violence. So if you're not a fan of that, you probably will not like this movie. But again, I'm a fan of john wick and so I was a fan of the action and fight scenes in this movie. Is this movie for everybody? No, if you're going into this thinking you're just gonna get a beat them up, you're basically right that there is some depth to it and there is some depth in the storyline that if you don't agree with a certain lifestyle, you will not fully appreciate this movie. And I I mean I I was entertained. Again.
Speaker 1:
There were moments where I had to under my breath say, oh, my goodness, and you know, that's my opinion, that is my opinion. I agree with the beating of transgender people, so don't come at me with that. I just didn't understand why he felt the need to put it in there. You're not going to change my mind about my opinion. But overall I thought it was a really good action film. I thought it was very well directed. The acting again was very good. I thought it was very well directed. The acting again was very good.
Speaker 1:
And so that is Monkey man, the first official Surprise Saturday episode, and I'm giving Monkey man a four out of six. It was a really good action film. I thought it was very well done, but there's just some things about it that forced me to give it a four out of six. So you can check out Katie and I's review of the racing film Rush coming up this Tuesday, so check it out. Thank you for listening. You guys are awesome and this has been maybe at the movies. Do you even know my mother's name? Do you know any of their names? I am there. Will not quiet your soul. My son. Do you know any of their names? I am there when not quiet your soul. My son. Don't call me son, the. Thank you. Thanks for watching.