“Monkey Man,” Oscar® nominated actor (“Lion,” ”Slumdog Millionaire”) Dev Patel’s directorial debut, has a raw and intense power that is best experienced on the big screen.

Says cinematographer Sharone Meir of the film and director Patel: “I’m proud of how cohesive and unified the feel and the look of the movie is. I’m proud of how we managed to let the audience not only see, but almost smell, the gritty, dirty, sweaty, nature of the environment it takes place in – versus the plush and glamorous world of the rich. I’m proud of how energetic, kinetic and raw it is…moviemaking with big kahunas! It takes a great director, with a true vision, to achieve that.”

Adds Patel of his passion project, “It’s chaos. It’s beautiful. It brews and it boils, and then explodes with the most insane action.”

“Monkey Man” is certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, both by critics and movie audiences.

In their review, Looper.com said that “Monkey Man” is an “impressive effort from Patel not only as a performer, but also as a first-time writer and director.” They also lauded Patel for his portrayal of Kid, saying that the film “cements him as a rising action star of his generation, with more magnetism and intensity than the majority of his contemporaries.”

Patel’s “kinetic direction and tense fight sequences, mixed with a deep reverence of Indian folklore, helps stake his claim as a future of action cinema,” said Deadline Hollywood.

Lauded the Associated Press: “‘Monkey Man’ makes for a forceful directorial debut from Patel. More than anything else, he brings a compelling gravity to a film that is quite serious about getting seriously brutal.

“He’s managed to craft a rare action movie that makes you think and also will joyfully plunge a metal rod into a dude’s brain,” USA Today said in praise of Patel’s directorial debut.

Inspired by the legend of the Hindu deity Hanuman, a symbol of wisdom, strength, courage, devotion and self-discipline, “Monkey Man” is an action thriller about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless. Patel plays Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Besides the legend of Hanuman, cult-favorite action films also inspired “Monkey Man,” including Korean revenge-action like “The Man from Nowhere” and “Oldboy,” alongside groundbreaking film series such as “John Wick.”

Get ready for insane and intense action from actor Dev Patel’s directorial debut, the action thriller “Monkey Man,” now showing in cinemas. #MonkeyManMoviePH

Follow Universal Pictures PH (FB), UniversalPicturesPH (IG) and UniversalPicsPH (TikTok) for the latest updates on “Monkey Man.”