Dev Patel has taken his career in a whole new direction with “Monkey Man,” moving behind the camera as both director and co-writer and transforming himself into an action hero onscreen. He plays the movie’s title character, who takes on a mythical persona in order to enact revenge on the criminals who killed his family. “Monkey Man” has been compared to “John Wick,” but Patel brings his own style to it, incorporating influences from Indian cinema into the Mumbai-set story.
Patel’s effort has paid off: “Monkey Man” has been acclaimed by critics, with an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has performed well at the box office, where it debuted in second place behind blockbuster juggernaut “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” That’s especially impressive for a movie that was dropped by its initial distributor, Netflix, before producer Jordan Peele came on board and helped Patel place “Monkey Man” at Universal Pictures and secure a major theatrical release.
