Say what you will about Stallone (go ahead ... I'll wait), he knew how to play his audience like a violin. Every Rocky movie, and every film done by Stallone when he was on vacation from Rocky, honored the classic dramatic "beats" of the story arc to keep the viewer hooked. Patel, not so much. In fact, Monkey Man violates the most basic movie test touted by the late Roger Ebert -- the 20 minute rule. 20 mins into this 2 hr extravaganza, the viewer still has no idea what is happening ... and in filmdom that is playing with fire. In fact, as a story, the film does not really catch fire until about the 1:15 mark. However, as a directorial debut, MM catches fire from the first frame. And you will remember it. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))
Review of Monkey Man
