Monkey Man, The First Omen, Girls State Reviews | See It or Skip It

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — Do you want a hard-hitting action thriller starring Dev Patel, or perhaps a horrifying prequel to The Omen? ABC4 Film Critic Patrick Beatty lets us know what to see and what to skip this weekend.

Monkey Man

Where to Watch: Theaters

Directed By: 

Dev Patel

Written By: 

Paul Angunawela, John Collee, Dev Patel

Starring:

Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash

Genre:

Action, Thriller

Rated R

All media courtesy of Universal Studios

This is actor Dev Patel’s directorial debut, as a man on a mission for revenge against the ones who killed his family. Whatever power they have in society, he’s poised to infiltrate and take them down in ‘Monkey Man.’ This was a film set to release back in 2019 but was shelved by Netflix, ended up going BACK to Dev Patel, and found a producer in ‘Get Out’s’ Jordan Peele, who put it on the big screen accompanied by Universal Pictures.

That’s not the only setbacks this film has had, from set locations being canceled the day of shooting, to cameras breaking, to Dev Patel being injured on set. This film fought its way into the silver screen and I am so glad it made it on the other side.

The story is fairly simple as a revenge story, but also lightly delves into social-political issues that keep you engaged during the less action-heavy moments. When the action hits, it’s impactful and exciting, albeit a little too shakey in some moments where you don’t know exactly what’s happening yet still is fun. I love how the fighting separates itself from being just a ‘John Wick’ ripoff but stands on its own while still bringing familiar notes from fighting movie classics.

I wish we could’ve seen more stories from our supporting characters to help better shape the world around Dev Patel’s character. I also think the ending, while full of great fights, could have resolved itself better. Overall though, this is a really enjoyable movie and one you should see in theaters.

See it or Skip it? See It

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The First Omen

Where to Watch: Theaters

Directed By: 

Arkasha Stevenson

Written By: 

Tim Smith, Arkasha Stevenson, Keith Thomas

Starring:

Nell Tiger Free, Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga

Genre:

Horror

Rated R

All media courtesy of Universal Studios

This is the prequel to the 1970s classic directed by Richard Donner and focuses on Sister Margaret, an American who moves into a convent and is suddenly faced with true horror as this cult works to prepare the world for the birth of the antichrist.

I am a bit 50/50 on my enjoyment of this because, for the first half, I genuinely thought this was one of the better horror films I’d seen this year. The atmosphere and tone was haunting and engaging. There are some truly disturbing moments that for horror fans, will be some of the best parts of the film. The acting done by our lead actor is very good too, especially when they have to be more physical in their performance — it was believable and scary.

When the film had to reset its suspense and story and tie itself to the original film, I was ready to get off this train. All of the suspense, all of the story built up, had to be manufactured to fit into where the first Omen picks up, taking all of the momentum out of it and leaving the rest of the movie to be predictable, cheesy, and lackluster. I respect the boldness of the director and studio for what they had set up, but the ending felt so forced and fell into prequel tropes, that I ended up completely uninterested and underwhelmed.

At the end of the day, one has to wonder why these types of franchise films need to exist, and if this film didn’t have to connect to an already existing property, it would’ve been for the better.

See it or Skip it? Skip It

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Girls State

Where to Watch: Apple TV+

Directed By: 

Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss

Genre:

Documentary

Rated TV-14

All media courtesy of Apple TV+

This debuted at Sundance Film Festival this year and I had the chance to watch then. You can check out that review on the See It or Skip It page, but to summarize — ‘Girls State’ is an important and heartfelt look into the lives of women who have a passion for government and helping others. Politics these days are so divisive and drowned out by anger and opinion, so it felt like a breath of fresh air to watch this and be reminded of how smart and passionate our future generations are.

I had the chance to interview not only the cast of the documentary but the directors as well. You can check that interview out below!

See it or Skip it? See It

INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTORS AMANDA MCBAINE, JESSE MOSS

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