Bear in mind how the primary “John Wick” got here out of nowhere and smacked us proper up the perimeters of our collective heads with its unbelievable combat scenes and engaging world-building? Whereas it stays to be seen if “Monkey Man” can ship the latter, its obvious themes about class warfare and misogyny actually trace at a movie that is obtained one thing happening underneath the hood. On the very least, the trailer guarantees some fairly spectacular hand-to-hand fight, with Patel evoking Keanu Reeves at his badass stoic finest as Child. There’s even some welcome self-aware comedy right here when Patel hilariously fails to tug off the traditional jump-through-a-glass-panel maneuver. To not point out, in one other welcome “John Wick” parallel, “Monkey Man” attracts inspiration from historical fable (particularly, “the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying energy and braveness,” per the movie’s synopsis).
The pedigree of behind-the-scenes expertise on “Monkey Man” can also be spectacular, with Jordan Peele and “John Wick” alum Basil Iwanyk producing alongside Patel (himself drawing from a script he wrote with Paul Angunawela and “Grasp and Commander: The Far Aspect of the World” scribe John Collee). Sharlto Copley joins Patel on the alternative facet of the digicam as a member of the forged, as does Sobhita Dhulipala, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunt, Sikandar Kher, and Makarand Deshpande.
Additionally, enjoyable reality: In response to LeslyNewsMagazine, it was Peele who introduced “Monkey Man” to Common after being blown away by an early screening and feeling it deserved a real theatrical launch. Some actual king sh*t there.
“Monkey Man” opens in theaters on April 5, 2024.