A Man Apart

Starring: Vin Diesel
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Rating: R
Genre: Action
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After his wife is murdered, a DEA Agent (Vin Diesel) goes on a rampage of guilt and revenge, seeking to kill those who ruined his life.

Review:

Tim: This is a decent enough film. The film took a pummeling at the hands of many of the nation's critics, but I don't think its all that bad. Sure, the whole cop-goes-on-revenge-spree-after-wife-is-murdered thing has been done many times and in much better fashion, but why stop making these types of movies now? Vin Diesel is a good action hero and I'll watch any action flick he makes.

A Man Apart is a mediocre cop film. It can be pretty boring and predictable, but it has all the elements of a decent cop movie. You have the main cop, a partner, they chase bad guys who squeal and lead them to bigger bad guys, everyone has a gun and many shots are fired and people die. How many films does that sound like? Countless. Add this one to that mix.

Diesel does a good job in the film, trying hard to expand his horizons and actually show some emotion. However, to a large degree his performance is unbelievable. Besides adding a beard and an additional edgy quality to him, he is virtually the same before and after his wife dies. These types of situations only work if there is a sudden and visible transformation after such an event (Diesel needs to look to Denzel Washington in Man on Fire to see how it's done).

In the end, this film offers a chance for Diesel to try and expand himself as an actor, but the movie is done in a messy and careless manner and offers us nothing we haven't seen before. Don't kill yourself to see this movie- I'd only recommend watching it if you can do so without an investment of too much time or money.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Fast and the Furious, XXX, Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick, Dark Blue, Training Day, Man on Fire