Hit-Monkey Review: The New Marvel Series With A Killer Monkey Back For Brutal Revenge

Stars Cast: Fred Tatasciore, Jason Sudeikis, Olivia Munn

Creators: Josh Gordon, Will Speck

Streaming Platform: Disney+ (click to watch)

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and half star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

The animated television series Marvel’s Hit-Monkey, based on the comic book character of the same name, is ready to debut in Italy as well. The 10-episode show will in fact be available from January 26, 2022 on Disney+ within the Star subsection. With the review of Hit-Monkey the new animated series by Marvel and available in exclusive streaming on Disney+ in the Star section the era of Marvel Television as a production entity in itself officially ends. It is, in fact, the last project approved by the cathodic division of the House of Ideas before October 2019, when complete control of the audiovisual department – cinema, TV and animation – was entrusted to Marvel Studios (a possible second season of this show).

Reducing the wording to a brand that distinguishes the – few – series not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (those that were to be part of the crossover. The Offenders, canceled already in pre-production, and those related to the world of the X-Men when the rights of the mutants were still in the hands of Fox). And if that era has to end, it’s right that it does so with a strong and odd title, which once again highlights how diverse the world of Marvel can be on screen, in all its different incarnations. NB The review, devoid of spoilers, is based on a preview of the complete season.

Hit-Monkey Review: The Story Plot  

The story is set in Japan and tells of a mercenary killer who is framed by the same organization that hired him for a job. The killer named Bryce dies in a hail of bullets after he managed to take refuge in a monkey camp in the snow-capped mountains of Japan. The men who reach him to finish him mercilessly exterminate all the monkeys present, except one who manages to escape. This monkey, harboring a desire for revenge for the death of his pack, bonds with the ghost of the killer, who has remained anchored to the Earth.

From here on, a story develops that sees the monkey collaborate (to be exact, it is a macaque) and the ghost of the killer Bryce, who teaches his new friend how to kill people! Hit-Monkey brings to the small screen the adventures of the eponymous character, whose paper debut, in line with the bizarre premise, was in an issue of Deadpool’s monthly. The protagonist is in fact a macaque, a member of a Japanese pack that comes into contact with an American professional killer, Bryce Fowler (voiced in the original by Jason Sudeikis).

The latter is recovering from an assignment that has gone partially wrong and is in love and agreement with all the macaques except one, the protagonist, who does not trust this stranger with a slightly macabre aura. One day, however, Bryce is tracked down and killed by men sent by his employers, and these, for fun, also kill the macaques. The only survivor is our (anti) hero, who was saved because at that moment he was exiled from the pack for his too aggressive behavior. Having watched Bryce keep fit, the monkey uses his weapons to get revenge, and then travels to Tokyo to take it out on all the local organized crime. Accompanying him, as a mentor, is the ghost of Bryce.

Hit-Monkey Review and Analysis

This series was initially spoken of as part of a larger project, intended to lead to a crossover. After the cancellation of the latter, the only other show to remain in production was MODOK, also part of the Hulu/Star offering (but on a weekly basis, while here the full season comes in a single block). And it is good that the crossover has not been done, because net of the aesthetic differences (the series on the villain with the robotic body is done in stop motion, along the lines of Robot Chicken , while this is made with traditional techniques), there are really two separate worlds that it would not make much sense to combine: MODOK’s is a demented universe, often devoted to parody (see Tony Stark with the voice of Jon Hamm), where one of the House of Ideas’ best-known villains is reinvented as a sitcom-style family man, unable to reconcile professional and private.

The story is different for the narrative universe where the adventures of Hit-Monkey take place, a setting that adheres more to the graphic style of the original comic and creates a real microcosm that, except for small references that will not escape the fans of the universe Paper Marvel (we are in Japan, so some references linked to Wolverine, Daredevil and Iron Fist escape us), it works precisely because it is interested in creating its own mythology rather than inserting itself in a wider context. It is a story of revenge with absurd outlines but with a serious and credible heart, rendered with a stylized gaze that translates the best styles of Hollywood and Japanese action into an animalistic key fun is guaranteed.

The style, as we have said, pays homage to the best of two action cinemas, and the original choice of entrusting the roles to real actors of Asian origin is also commendable, including a star of the caliber of George Takei, for years the name of points among the stars who often and willingly lend themselves to dubbing. But the real star, as the title suggests, is the monkey, and it is impossible not to mention the person who gives him life in terms of performance: Fred Tatasciore.

 Marvel veteran (he has long been the official voice of the Hulk and other characters in various animated productions), generally specialized in characters with not particularly human sounds (at Warner he was several demons in films such as Annabelle 2: Creation and Shazam!, as well as Taz in Space Jam – New Legends ), here has the delicate task of making the primate of the title fierce and at the same time “human”, giving it a complete personality with a few strategic vocalizations. A recitative tour de force that further contributes to the charm of an enjoyable pulp story that enriches the Marvel streaming catalog with fun and entertaining.

Hit-Monkey is a series designed exclusively for an adult audience! It is indeed full of profanity, violence and sexual innuendo. In short, Hit-Monkey could be defined as a cross between Deadpool and Kill Bill. From the Marvel film with Ryan Reynolds Hit-Monkey certainly borrowed the gab of its ghost protagonist, while from the film by Quentin Tarantino (and not only from Kill Bill) the show was inspired by the splatter scenes, the violence of the clashes, the showy splashes of blood and the theme of revenge.

Hit-Monkey Review: The Last Words

Fun and action-packed, Hit-Monkey is a beautiful story with splatter and supernatural elements reminiscent of the themes and staging of Quentin Tarantino’s films. We close the Hit-Monkey review, highlighting how the new Marvel animated series enriches the Disney+ catalog with a fun pulp adventure based on animals and brutal revenge.