Monkey Man ending explained

Monkey Man is an epic action movie that sees Dev Patel wreaking revenge on the people who destroyed his family. Here’s how that scenario plays out, via our ending explainer.

Monkey Man is directed and co-written by Dev Patel, while the Slumdog Millionaire star also plays the title character, whom the movie only refers to as “Kid.”

At the start of the story, he’s earning money competing in mixed martial arts fights in Mumbai, while working his way up a local criminal organisation, for reasons that aren’t clear in the movie’s early scenes.

But as Monkey Man progresses, it’s clear that Kid wants to kill a specific person involved with the operation, for what they did to his mother years previous. Here’s what happens, so beware of SPOILERS ahead…

Monkey Man ending explained

The target in question is the local Chief of Police (Sikandar Kher), who murdered Kid’s mother when our her was just a toddler. And the Monkey Man succeeds, killing the corrupt cop, then taking out the Guru (Makarand Deshpande) responsible for much of the pain and suffering depicted in the movie.

In our review of Monkey Man, we compared the movie to The Raid, both through the high-octane action, and a plot that finds the protagonist moving up through floors in the villain’s lair, battling more powerful criminals as he ascends.

The Chief of Police is dispatched in the building’s VIP room, with Kid beating him to death in brutal fashion. Then he uses the hotel manager’s severed thumb to operate a lift that takes him to the summit, where aforementioned Baba Shakti sits.

This so-called Guru has risen to political power, through using religion as a tool to control and exploit the poor. He’s also indirectly responsible for the death of Kid’s mother, thereby setting up the film’s finale in the building’s penthouse.

The Guru claims he wants to end the cycle of violence, or risk being trapped in it for generations, but this request is just a rouse to distract his opponent.

“Do you know my mother’s name?” yells the Kid. “Do you know any of their names?” Baba Shakti responds by stabbing him in the stomach. But Kid ain’t going out like that, and turns the tables, knocking the villain to the ground, pulling the knife out of his body, and stabbing the Guru.

His victim begs for mercy, to which Kid responds with “Only god can save you now,” followed by a shove of said knife into Baba Shakti head, killing him stone-dead. The movie then ends with images of Kid’s mother laughing during happier times, before fading to black.

Monkey Man is out now. For more movies releasing this month, head here, while for TV shows new to streaming, click here.