The Ultimate Action Hero of the 2020s: A Surprising Rise in Martial Arts Cinema

There were several incredible action films that hit in the 2020s, but one of the best martial arts movies of the last few years featured an action star that no one could have expected. Martial arts genre fans have had a lot to love since 2020, and many of the releases that arrived seemed to come from nowhere. Everything Everywhere All At Once is a film mixing fantasy with martial arts and ended up as an Oscar favorite. Boy Kills World and Novocaine also took unique turns in the genre.

Even the Marvel Cinematic Universe had an incredible martial arts release with Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings . However, in 2024, one action movie hit theaters and delivered amazing martial arts action from an actor that no one had high expectations for. That movie starred Dev Patel , an actor who had never hinted that he had big action roles in his future. Despite that, Monkey Man might be one of the best martial arts movies of the last decade.

Why Monkey Man Is The Best Martial Arts Movie Of The 2020s So Far

Monkey Man Mixes Amazing Martial Arts With A Topical Story

When Monkey Man arrived in theaters in April 2024, no one knew what to expect. For one thing, this was actor Dev Patel's directorial debut. Another thing that had fans puzzled was that Patel was not an action star, and this movie looked like a John Wick clone. However, once fans saw the movie, Patel proved he was the perfect person for the job , both behind the camera and as the star pulling off the martial arts fighting action. He delivered action that was both exciting to watch and actually had something to say.

Monkey Man is a martial arts revenge film , telling the story of Kid (Patel), an underground fighter who wears a monkey mask. He is looking for Rana Singh, the corrupt cop who killed his mother when he was a child. He gets a job at the club where Rana spends time, but his plan for revenge becomes complicated when he learns Rana has connections to a powerful spiritual and political figure in Tatana.

What makes Monkey Man such a great martial arts action movie is that it has incredible action, but it also doesn't shy away from the themes surrounding the current state of politics in India. Thanks to the incredible action scenes and the smart storytelling about an underdog helping take down a fascist regime, the film was a box office and critical success and has an 89% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score.

Nothing About Dev Patel's Past Roles Suggested He'd Be An Action Star

What is most interesting is that Dev Patel showed no signs before he directed and starred in Monkey Man that he had what it took to be an action star. Before this film, Patel mostly appeared in dramas and action scenes remained limited. His breakout was in the Danny Boyle Bollywood movie Slumdog Millionaire , which earned him a BAFTA nomination as a teenager who fought to rise from the slums of his home country to success thanks to a game show.

He also had major roles in the comedy-drama The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, and the HBO drama series The Newsroom . He had roles in movies that contained action, such as the sci-fi movie Chappie and the medieval fantasy adventure movie The Green Knight, but he, in no way, had to pull off the action scenes expected from him in Monkey Man. However, Dev Patel proved he could pull off the drama in award-caliber movies like Lion and add in the martial arts skills from Monkey Man , adding to an already impressive career.