Monkey Man

What’s it about?

A man seeks revenge for the death of his mother at the hands of cruel and corrupt figures.

The facts

• Directed by Dev Patel (Skins, Slumdog Millionaire, The Green Knight) and produced by Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us, Nope)
• English language
• Runtime: 121 minutes

Why did it get this rating?

This film was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu—Classification Office.

Violence

There are numerous fight scenes, mainly involving hand-to-hand combat, knives, bottles, and blunt items. Guns are occasionally used. Examples include:

• A man is stabbed in the neck in a close-up shot. The blade is then shown being driven further into his throat, up to the hilt.
• An axe is swung and lodged deeply into a man’s neck.
• A man’s nose is bitten off during an intense period of combat. In another scene, a woman’s finger is severed in a close-up shot.

Fighters trade blows in an underground boxing ring. They are shown beaten and bloodied.

A village is destroyed after men fire guns at women and children during a play. A woman is beaten and set on fire while a child watches on.

Sex

There are brief shots of sex in a brothel.

Drug use

Lines of powder are snorted in a club.

A man takes a psychedelic substance which makes him revisit a traumatic event in his past.

Offensive language

“F**k” and its variants are used throughout the film.

Demeaning language, such as “wh*re”, is used towards women.

What our Youth Advisory Panel said

Two members of our Youth Advisory Panel attended the screening.

Our Panel members noted the violence had the highest impact for them. The amount of violence ramped up towards the end of the film, and became more brutal and gory. However, much of the violence was fast-paced, unrealistic and dimly lit, which lessened its impact.

They also noted the way in which women in a club were demeaned by being offered to patrons on menus listing their attributes.

Further information

Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?