A Man Apart

Rating:
Summary: Vin Diesel's Powerful Acting Cannot Save This Confusion
Review: Listen please. Japanese theatrical release of F Gary Gray's "A Man Apart" was delayed so much that we could see his "Italian Job" (which was made after "A Man Apart") several months earlier. What does this lack of confidence mean?

Well, the answer is this. "A Man Apart" has Vin Diesel as its star, so we expect something tense, something with action and perhaps humor. No, though Vin Diesel still retains the same amount of charisma, it's a huge disappointment.

As I said, Vin Diesel is good as the rough and tough cop Sean Vetter. Raised in the street himself, he knows the bad things drugs can bring to your life more than any other cops, so Sean sometimes goes too far. This time, in Mexico, he arrests a drug kingpin, ignoring his warning: "You don't know what you're doing."

So far, the film is good. And you get (and Sean gets) what he gets -- new drug cartel takes over, and his wife is murdered. Bent on revenge, he tries to find the guy who ordered the deadly attack....

This kind of premise has been done many times, but "A Man Apart" attempts to give an edge to the story. The drug king is given a certain amount of characterization. That's a good thing if only the film is directed with assured skill of storytelling. It has none. Actually, I had hard time trying to figure out which is which in a certain shoot-out scene. That kind of confusion happens again and again, and there is no substance in the second part of the film where Vin's character should be shining more.

Think about any TV cop series in the 70s or 80s, like "Miami Vice," and you get the picture. Only that the plot is muddled and the situation is confused.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT ACTION FLICK!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the story and action of the movie.
I still can't understand why there is such use of the "f" word - it sounds so much like an adolescent rebellion and un-educated persons who don't know how to use english.

And face it guys - bare bodies aren't all that exciting -- gee!
Attitude, presence, chrisma is what comes across to make a great character. Vin Diesel comes across well as does his partner.

Generally all around good action - gross language [in spots] great villians - great photography - well put together. Wouldn't change it, except............

Rating:
Summary: Great Outing by Diesel
Review: Vin Diesel stars as a DEA Agent out for revenge in "A Man Apart" and the results are solid.

THE STORY:

Former gang banger turned DEA Agent Sean Vetter makes the biggest bust of his career taking down the biggest drug distributor on the West Coast. Before he can celebrate his victory his wife is killed in a plot of revenge. Vetter must cope with his lose while setting out to find the people who killed his wife while keeping a new drug lord from taking over the turf.

THE COOL THINGS:

This is your standard macho tough guy "take no prisoners" movie. Diesel's cool "tough guy" persona shines through as he makes the rounds kicking butt and taking names of all the bad guy drug dealers out there. The powerful undertones of loss and companionship as Vetter's boys help him out makes the movie touching as well as a good action flick.

THE DVD EXTRAS:

DVD special fiends are in for a disappointment here as the movie only has 7 deleted scenes (all crappy) and trailers to speak for it. Surprisingly there's no commentary or featurettes to speak of.

THE VERDICT:

"A Man Apart" makes a solid rental for the evening and is definitely worth a watch. As far getting the DVD goes, with no features to speak of this one is probably only worth the pick up by true Diesel fans and collectors.

Final Grades:

Movie: 4 stars
Extras: 3 stars

Total: 3.5 stars

Rating:
Summary: Worth watching
Review: Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others

STORY: DEA agent is out to take revenge on the drug dealers that killed his wife.

MY FEEDBACK:
1) Forget XXX or Fast & Furious, this is a much better Vin Diesle movie (Pitch Black is still his best though). Vin does some decent acting and his general charisma carry a large portion of the movie.

2) Good attempt at developing the relationship of Vin's character with other characters in the movie

3) Not a huge action flick but enough guns to keep this drama moving

4) Some suspension of belief is needed in this movie

5) Seemed the editing didn't explain a plot twist or two but cut things out leaving gaps in the story.

OVERALL: We enjoyed the movie and didn't feel like we wasted out time with it.

Rating:
Summary: Vin Diesel's Powerful Acting Cannot Save This Confusion
Review: Listen please. Japanese theatrical release of F Gary Gray's "A Man Apart" was delayed so much that we could see his "Italian Job" (which was made after "A Man Apart") several months earlier. What does this lack of confidence mean?

Well, the answer is this. "A Man Apart" has Vin Diesel as its star, so we expect something tense, something with action and perhaps humor. No, though Vin Diesel still retains the same amount of charisma, it's a huge disappointment.

As I said, Vin Diesel is good as the rough and tough cop Sean Vetter. Raised in the street himself, he knows the bad things drugs can bring to your life more than any other cops, so Sean sometimes goes too far. This time, in Mexico, he arrests a drug kingpin, ignoring his warning: "You don't know what you're doing."

So far, the film is good. And you get (and Sean gets) what he gets -- new drug cartel takes over, and his wife is murdered. Bent on revenge, he tries to find the guy who ordered the deadly attack....

This kind of premise has been done many times, but "A Man Apart" attempts to give an edge to the story. The drug king is given a certain amount of characterization. That's a good thing if only the film is directed with assured skill of storytelling. It has none. Actually, I had hard time trying to figure out which is which in a certain shoot-out scene. That kind of confusion happens again and again, and there is no substance in the second part of the film where Vin's character should be shining more.

Think about any TV cop series in the 70s or 80s, like "Miami Vice," and you get the picture. Only that the plot is muddled and the situation is confused.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT ACTION FLICK!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the story and action of the movie.
I still can't understand why there is such use of the "f" word - it sounds so much like an adolescent rebellion and un-educated persons who don't know how to use english.

And face it guys - bare bodies aren't all that exciting -- gee!
Attitude, presence, chrisma is what comes across to make a great character. Vin Diesel comes across well as does his partner.

Generally all around good action - gross language [in spots] great villians - great photography - well put together. Wouldn't change it, except............

Rating:
Summary: quite good actually
Review: I must say i was impressed by this movie,Vin Diesel can actually act.Unlike xXx which i hated with a passion,this movie shows a more emotional side of Diesel,something we definately are not use to seeing.He actually cry's,get's nervous,get's hurt,everything a real human would do,unlike xXx were he goes through flame's,jumps motorcycles through the air like spiderman,never gets hit once,not one drop of blood etc.So watch this and you actually won't think it's lame,like most action star's with one liner's.He actually does more:)

Rating:
Summary: A Movie Picked Apart...
Review: Despite the mixed critiques, luke warm reviews, A Man Apart ain't all that bad...Diesel is still in his early stage of his acting career so there is much room for improvement...You still have to give the man an A for effort at least. But, soon he will definitely need something to really prove that he can play other well rounded or multi-faceted in-depth roles to avoid being stereo type casted or stuck as the tougher than tough and take no bs guy for the rest of his career.There's only so many limited "don't f with me, man" expressions viewers can take.Otherwise, it will just be Vin Diesel, well, playing Vin Diesel...

What the film may also lack in story depth it makes up for in it's quick and fast paced action. The thrilling twist did keep me as a viewer interested as to who El Diablo (the new cartel druglord taking over a major pipeline) was. Early in the film I thought it was one character but was actually surprised and got a chuckle that it was someone else ! You'll never guess who it is until towards the end...Diesel's portrayal as Sean Vetter, a somewhat renegade DEA officer, trying to smoke out El Diablo for a personal vendetta does allow Diesel's acting abilities to show some vulnerbale and emotional moments without the man totally breaking down or hitting a melodramatic melting point...

The video and audio technical aspects, well, are your average to pretty good run of the mill stuff. Surround effects are effective for ricocheting bullets, cars exploding, and packed with rumbling bass for some pivotal scenes. The video transfer is clean and film-like with no harsh grain or color bleeding. Darks are dark to black and lights are light to bright...Clean picture, clean sound.

As a casual Saturday evening, stay-in-home flick, A Man Apart is worth viewing once, but maybe not twice.

Rating:
Summary: Great Action Flick
Review: I love Vin Diesel, and I think this movie is one of his best. In my mind, it is much better than XXX. I think this movie allowed Diesel to show emotion in his acting, not just a kick ass and who cares attitude. Great Movie!

Rating:
Summary: Vin can act - no really, he CAN!
Review: I know a lot of people laugh at the thought, but this film illustrates that Vin Diesel can act...he's actually damn good at it.

I think this is Diesel's best film ever. Sure, it's got lots of action and fighting, but what really makes this movie for me is the transformation of Diesel's character from beginning to end. It's quite possibly the most tangible thing throughout the entire film. That's not even doing it justice...it jumps out the screen, grabs your heart in it's fist and bursts it...yeah, that's a little better.

You owe it to yourself to at least check this film out as a rental. You'll be glad you did.