Man, I loved this movie. It steals from the best, and that’s fine. Director and star Dev Patel puts his own unique dressing on the sturdy framework so that there’s plenty of difference in locale and cultural spice.

Set in the big city of Mumbai, Patel plays “The Kid,” a nameless grown up with a haunted childhood and the best reason for revenge a movie could ask for: to avenge the death of his mother when he was just a boy.

But it starts with Patel wearing a monkey mask, while mostly getting his ass whupped in a underground UFC-type set up. Bettors change money on matches that would seemingly kill the average twenty-something, but seem to only give The Kid more courage, better abs, and the beginnings of a plan to get even.

Cut to Patel working his way up from dishwasher to snazzily dressed waiter in a private club with the richest customers and the most beautiful sex workers. How he arrives at that level is an interesting part of his development from a bloody bum to martial arts (especially knives) expert who kills henchmen by the dozens, all while sporting Hugo Boss-style black suits and thousand-dollar shoes.

And that’s the part where, without trying, you can see where Keanu’s John Wick has influenced Patel as a storyteller.

But never mind, the point is that The Kid knows who killed his mother and knows that the killer is powerful and a frequent customer of this private club. It’s a two hour film and there’s a lot of action between points A and B which I’m leaving out.

Here’s what’s great: the fight choreography is Bruce Lee in a slick, updated movie. The violence is graphic, gory and absolutely delightful (remember this is only a movie). The story, as I said, puts enough unique elements in the mix to separate it from the facile comparisons that I’ve made.

This is Patel’s first movie as a director and he’s as sure-footed as a much older veteran of the craft. If it’s not still in a theater near you, then keep an eye out for it on streaming. For fans of this genre, it’s a great sample of those elements.