'Monkey Man' review: Dev Patel's film is a political allegory bathed in blood

Has there been a more satisfying actor to watch mature on screen in recent years than Dev Patel? The endearingly earnest, scrawny kid of “Slumdog Millionaire” has steadily grown into a singularly intense and sensitive leading man. It’s a transformation that, for anyone who missed “Lion,”“The Personal History of David Copperfield” or “The Green Knight,” may be especially jarring in watching Patel’s new film, “Monkey Man.”

Like “Slumdog Millionaire,” the film is set in Mumbai and has a touch of fable to it. But in tone and texture, it could hardly be more different. Bathed in blood and fury, “Monkey Man” is one gory coming out party for Patel, who also directed and co-wrote the film. He kicks so much butt in this movie — at one point he punches a punch — that it’s enough to make you wonder if the search for the new James Bond ought to be redirected.