Monkey Man

Monkey Man is currently streaming in Australia on Paramount Plus and Stan, and its case-by-case structure never gets in the way of the bigger story. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. With 1,447 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Dev Patel anchors it, but the writing does the real work. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Paramount Plus.

Monkey Man is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. The plotting in Monkey Man is tight enough that the twists feel earned rather than assembled. Kid is 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. The writing gets a boost from Dev Patel and Sikandar Kher, who sell every scene they're in. Monkey Man came out in 2024. What distinguishes the best crime dramas from the rest is whether the character work can carry scenes where the mystery takes a breath — Monkey Man passes that test consistently. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

For anyone who wants their crime drama to earn its twists, Monkey Man delivers. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Watch Dev Patel work — it is a masterclass in the genre. Few crime dramas earn their twists this consistently.