Category: Jordan Peele

Slumdog Millionaire actor Dev Patel’s first directorial movie debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with an incredible 100 per cent critic rating on Tuesday.

As more reviews rolled in from highly acclaimed film critics dotted around the world, Monkey Man’s Rotten Tomatoes score went down to a stellar 88 per cent.

The vengeance-filled film, Monkey Man, centres around a young gentleman named Kid (Dev Patel), who is on a bloody pursuit for revenge after the death of his mother.

Produced by Nope’s Jordan Peele, we see the protagonist beaten blue by more well-renowned fighters every night whilst wearing a gorilla mask in exchange for pennies.

Following years of pent up rage, the poor countryside man sets out a plan to worm his way into the enclave of the city’s ominous elites.

Slumdog Millionaire actor Dev Patel’s first directorial movie debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with an incredible 100 per cent critic rating 

As more reviews rolled in from critics throughout the globe, the score has dropped slightly to 88 per cent

The gory action-packed thriller follows the story of a fight club brawler, Kid, in an Indian metropolis hell-bent on vengeance

As his childhood trauma begins to ignite an uncontrollable rage, the young man lets lose a terrifying campaign – with his mysteriously scarred hands – on the men who took what matters most to him. 

Boasting a critic score of 88 per cent at last glance, the action packed thriller reminiscent of John Wick has received rave reviews from several film critics.  

‘Just as Kid is reborn in the film, so too is Patel. It requires fighting a bloody battle, but what a beautiful sight it is to see,’ said Chase Hutchinson from The Wrap.

‘Forget John Wick, let no one doubt the power of action star Dev Patel again.’ 

‘It’s a muscular, emotional, ferocious triumph of a movie, and when it’s over, you’ll want to go right back in and watch it all over again,’ said the AV Club’s Matthew Jackson. 

Giving the film a three out of five score, Adrian Horton from The Guardian said the film was not ‘the smoothest ride.

He added: ‘But as proof of concept for Patel’s action movie bona fides in front of and behind the camera, consider Monkey Man a success.’ 

‘Patel makes a fine hero. The actor is a consistently charming presence whose capabilities have only grown since Skins and his breakthrough role in Slumdog,’ wrote Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye.

The gory action thriller is shot using iconography from Hindu scripture, especially leaning on the widely worshipped figure of Hanuman. 

With his mysteriously scared hands, Kid goes on a bloody pursuit for revenge for the death of his mother

Following years of pent up rage, the poor countryside man sets out a plan to worm his way into the enclave of the city’s ominous elites 

An earthly incarnation of the god Shiva – the destroyer – Hanuman is half man and half monkey.

The deity is a supernaturally powerful figure who appears in the classic epic The Ramayana in the war against the demon-king Ravan and his army.

In flirting with Hindu iconography, the movie risks provoking controversy in India, where a Hindu nationalist party is currently in government and irreverence toward the majority religion has become an increasingly fraught topic.

Last year, outrage mounted online over Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer because a Hindu holy text, the Bhavagad Gita, is quoted in a sex scene.

In May, a fury erupted over the actress Deepika Padukone wearing an orange bikini in a sexpot musical number called Besharam Rang (Shameless Color), because saffron is regarded as a sacred colour in Hinduism.

Monkey Man was previously a Netflix project, however is was nabbed by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw productions and is set to hit theatres on April 5. 

But as his childhood trauma bubbles to the surface, Kid sets out on a terrifying campaign on those who took what mattered most to him

An earthly incarnation of the god Shiva – the destroyer – Hanuman is half man and half monkey, a supernaturally powerful figure who appears in the classic epic The Ramayana

The story is shot through with iconography from Hindu scripture, centering especially on the widely worshipped figure of Hanuman 

Jordan Peele has unveiled the trailer for an action-packed new movie called Monkey Man, written and directed by Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame.

Filled with hair-raising fight sequences reminiscent of John Wick, the trailer follows the story of a fight club brawler in an Indian metropolis hell-bent on vengeance.

Dev stars as the Kid, a poor man from the countryside who worms his way into the urban elite in order to avenge his mother’s death.

The story is shot through with iconography from Hindu scripture, centering especially on the widely worshipped figure of Hanuman.

An earthly incarnation of the god Shiva – the destroyer – Hanuman is half man and half monkey, a supernaturally powerful figure who appears in the classic epic The Ramayana in the war against the demon-king Ravan and his army.

Jordan Peele has unveiled the trailer for an action-packed new movie called Monkey Man, written and directed by Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame

Filled with hair-raising fight sequences reminiscent of John Wick, the trailer follows the story of a fight club brawler in an Indian metropolis hell-bent on vengeance

Dev stars as the Kid, a poor man from the countryside who worms his way into the urban elite in order to avenge his mother’s death

The story is shot through with iconography from Hindu scripture, centering especially on the widely worshipped figure of Hanuman

An earthly incarnation of the god Shiva – the destroyer – Hanuman is half man and half monkey, a supernaturally powerful figure who appears in the classic epic The Ramayana

Early in the trailer, hints appear of the Kid’s traumatic childhood, as gun-toting men storm his village and set it ablaze as his mother screams.

Flashes of artwork showing Hanuman briefly appear on the screen as the adult Kid’s voiceover narration sets the stage for the action.

‘When I was a boy, my mother used to tell me a story of a demon-king and his army,’ Dev’s voice intones over the mysterious opening footage.

An urban elite man swathed in a white kurta and matching shawl appears, with a phalanx of soldiers and a thug enforcer – clearly the villains of the picture.

‘They brought fire and terror to the land, until they faced the protector of the people – the White Monkey,’ the Kid goes on.

He is seen, musclebound and shirtless and covered in sweat, training for one of the fights presumably in his underground fight club.

The Kid faces off against grisly opponents in the no-holds-barred fights, including one who can be glimpsed swinging a mace at his head.

When he steps into the ring, the Kid channels the deity his mother told him about, concealing his face behind a giant monkey mask.

Early in the trailer, hints appear of the Kid’s traumatic childhood, as gun-toting men storm his village and set it ablaze as his mother screams

Flashes of artwork showing Hanuman briefly appear on the screen as the adult Kid’s voiceover narration sets the stage for the action

‘When I was a boy, my mother used to tell me a story of a demon-king and his army,’ Dev’s voice intones over the mysterious opening footage

An urban elite man swathed in a white kurta and appears, with a phalanx of soldiers and a thug enforcer – clearly the villains of the picture

‘They brought fire and terror to the land, until they faced the protector of the people – the White Monkey,’ the Kid goes on

He is seen, musclebound and shirtless and covered in sweat, training for one of the fights presumably in his underground fight club

The Kid faces off against grisly opponents in the no-holds-barred fights, including one who can be glimpsed swinging a mace at his head 

When he steps into the ring, the Kid channels the deity his mother told him about, concealing his face behind a giant monkey mask

Surfacing from his life in the poorest environs in town, the Kid secures himself a string of menial jobs in a nightclub with a tawdry underbelly.

‘Give me the job no one wants to do, and I’ll do it,’ he vows, plunging into a regimen that includes scrubbing floors and washing away vomit.

‘In this city, the rich don’t see us as people,’ he explains, over a clip of the villain in a luxury car weaving through a crowd of hoi polloi knocking at his window.

The audience gets a few peeks into the shady underworld of the club, as one man gets his face smashed into an ashtray.

A line of girls is assembled for the delectation of the men, and as one of them informs the Kid: ‘This is not the place to work if you can’t handle that sort of stuff.’

‘Everyday, I’ve prayed for a way to protect the weak,’ says the Kid over an evocative shot of the skyscrapers looming over the slums.

He finds a man who can get him a car, only to learn the vehicle in question is an auto-rickshaw named after Nicki Minaj for its ‘big bumper’ and ‘nice headlights.’

With his trusty new auto, the Kid plunges into a string of blood-pumping fight sequences against a series of fearsome enemies.

Surfacing from his life in the poorest environs in town, the Kid secures himself a string of menial jobs in a nightclub with a tawdry underbelly

‘Give me the job no one wants to do, and I’ll do it,’ he vows, plunging into a regimen that includes scrubbing floors and washing away vomit

‘In this city, the rich don’t see us as people,’ he explains, over a clip of the villain in a luxury car weaving through a crowd of hoi polloi knocking at his window

A line of girls is assembled for the delectation of the men, and as one of them informs the Kid: ‘This is not the place to work if you can’t handle that sort of stuff’

‘Everyday, I’ve prayed for a way to protect the weak,’ says the Kid 

He finds a man who can get him a car, only to learn the vehicle in question is an auto-rickshaw named after Nicki Minaj for its ‘big bumper’ and ‘nice headlights’

With his trusty new auto, the Kid plunges into a string of blood-pumping fight sequences against a series of fearsome enemies

Monkey Man used to be a Netflix project, but was snapped up by Jordan Peele, whose Monkeypaw productions is now releasing it in movie theaters

The movie marks Dev’s first time directing a feature film, coming six years after he helmed a short film called Home Shopper starring Armie Hammer

Monkey Man used to be a Netflix project, but was snapped up by Jordan Peele, whose Monkeypaw productions is now releasing it in movie theaters in collaboration with Universal Pictures on April 5. 

The movie marks Dev’s first time directing a feature film, coming six years after he helmed a short film called Home Shopper starring Armie Hammer.  

In flirting with Hindu iconography, the movie risks provoking controversy in India, where a Hindu nationalist party is currently in government and irreverence toward the majority religion has become an increasingly fraught topic.

Last year, outrage mounted online over Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer because a Hindu holy text, the Bhavagad Gita, is quoted in a sex scene. 

In May, a furor erupted over the actress Deepika Padukone wearing an orange bikini in a sexpot musical number called Besharam Rang (Shameless Color), inasmuch as saffron is regarded in Hinduism as a sacred color.