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| A Man Apart |
| Genre |
Action |
| Starring |
Vin Diesel |
| Director |
F. Gary Gary |
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"A Man Apart" features Vin Diesel in top form, but the movie is unoriginal and inconsistent at best. This was sadly mediocre film that garnered scathing reviews from critics across the country, yet I am oddly compelled to defend it.
"A Man Apart" is a throwback to the glory days of action films of the 1980?s. There were no obnoxious comic relief characters. There were no computer effects. The films were very bloody and had guns, lots of guns.
Remember Van Damme in "Blood Sport", Seagal in "Hard to Kill", Willis in "The Last Boy Scout", Schwarzenegger in "Commando", even Stallone in "Cobra" -these are barely average films, yet fans of the action genre consider them to be classics. We knew these films were not going to win Oscars, but damnit man, we could count on our boy to grimace, say some one-liners and kick some ass.
Diesel is clearly the premiere action hero right now. He has a undeniable charisma and a commanding screen presence. Unlike last summer's "XXX" and "The Fast and the Furious" from the summer before that, this is vintage old-school heroism. No computer animated avalanches, no glitz, just an action film wrapped in head-lowered heartache and excessive revenge.
The film owes a debt to John Boorman's 1967 film "Point Blank" (re-made with Mel Gibson in 1999 as "Payback"), about a man who gains his revenge by killing his way up the mob's employment chain starting from the bottom up. It also brings to mind legendary tough man, Charles Bronson in "Death Wish". (After his family was attacked, his rage was so furious that it lasted four sequels).
"A Man Apart" begins in Mexico, with DEA agent Sean Vetter (Vin Diesel) finally taking down Tijuana drug lord, Meno Lucero (Geno Silva) after a seven year hunt. The raid is successful, and Meno heads off for two life sentences in a California prison, but only after swearing revenge. Shortly thereafter, gunmen open fire on Vetter and his wife Stacy (Jacqueline Obradors), killing her.
While in prison, Meno's empire crumbles. A faceless adversary known only as "Diablo" has come onto the scene and is taking over. One of Diablo's first acts is to kill Meno's wife and son. When Vetter pays a visit to the prison, Meno suggests that Diablo was also responsible for Stacy's death. Armed with this knowledge, Vetter and his partner, Demetrius (Larenz Tate), go in search of the new crime boss Diablo.
From this point on, Vetter goes berserk, turning into a complete badass with a short fuse and complete disregard for civil rights. After playing Russian roulette with a dealers skull and beating a suspect to death, Vetter is suspended from the force. Vetter then gets help from one of his gangster thug friends from the 'hood (George Sharperson). They proceed to go after Diablo outside the law.
"A Man Apart" is effectively paced and nicely choreographed, thanks to cinematographer Jack N. Green ("Unforgiven"), who gives the scenes a nice texture that the writing sometimes lacks. But the script does have more intelligent writing than most films of this genre usually manage.
Director F. Gary Gray ("The Negotiator") is able to throw together more than competent direction as well a creating a dark, gritty mood. The film features one of the most brutal and engaging gunfights since the explosive shoot-out bank robbery in Michael Mann's "Heat".
Some of the story seems illogical, if only an excuse to get to the chases, shootouts and general mayhem. I'll admit that some of the time, I didn't really know what was going on. There was definitely a sense of letdown at the ending which results in a feeling of dissatisfaction.
BOTTOM LINE: Loyal fans of Diesel and the action genre will appreciate this film, others probably won't. C+ B- |
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| "We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it." |
- Jack Nicholson
A Few Good Men
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Distributed Beers
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| 5 |
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot |
| 4 |
Guinness Draught |
| 3 |
Newcastle Brown Ale |
| 2 |
Bass Pale Ale |
| 1 |
Samuel Adams Boston Lager |
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