Diablo (A Man Apart)

Vin Diesel is MUCH better in this drama/action film then he was in his last action film, "XXX". His performance as a broken man who just lost his wife to drug dealer, & his violent crusade against said criminals, while not original in the least, does captivate you. As far as action movies go, this one can hang with the better of them. The action doesn't mix too well with the drama though...

My Grade: B-

Eye Candy: 2 topless women, 1 erotic dancer (Former Man Show Juggy, Paula Harrison) in see-through cloth

Extras: 7 Deleted Scenes (the first having 1 more topless chick, the 7th being an extended version of the aforementioned Juggy's dance) ; Trailers for (of all things)Run, Ronnie, Run & Highwaymen

When I rate a movie or give my opinion of a movie, I try my best to compare it to other movies like it. For example, if it is a drama about family, I use other dramas about families as a benchmark. "A Man Apart" is definitely a vigilante film. Sean Vetter's (Vin Diesel) wife was murdered and he is out to find the killer. If you want a reference for a vigilante film, see just about any Charles Bronson movie, or some of the movies with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwazzenegger, or Steven Segal. One of my personal favorite vigilante movies is the Denzel Washington starred "Man on Fire".

Comparatively, "A Man Apart" doesn't quite match up. Whether it was how the movie was done, or it was Vin Diesel, I didn't quite feel the pain of Sean when he lost his wife. This type of movie is dependent upon the drive of the main character and getting the audience to understand or feel that same drive. Sure, most of us would understand a man seeking revenge or justice for the wrongful death of his wife, but the character still has to have some type of charisma or believability. Vin Diesel is too one dimensional to show a wide range of emotions, and there weren't enough scenes showing the bond between Sean and his wife for me to be too upset when she was killed. In the end, the movie was about a vigilante seeking justice who I wanted to succeed, but I was still indifferent about.

A Man Apart is nothing special but after the first 15 minutes I didn't think I'd be saying that in my comment. It starts off really well, exciting, good characters and it was moving along nice and quickly. While the good characters and the moving along kept up throughout the movie, the most important thing didn't - the excitement. The action sequences just became like Vin Diesel's acting voice - exactly the same the whole movie. The director tried his best to vary it (bombs, choking .etc) but these things never seemed to have any effect, for what reason I don't know. Also the storyline was unbelievably predictable.

There are a lot of action movie out there, a lot - you're not going to find anything new in this one.

This movie is alright for a gritty action film because it reminds me of the grittiness of Narc with the action sequences of XXX. The acting of Vin Diesel as a DEA agent is going out for revenge after his wife was murdered is good and alright and the acting Larenz Tate as his partner is alright as well.

Overall, I find this movie a good gritty action flick to entertain yourself any time.

The start of the movie is good and gripping and it gives you the feel of a good movie in making but after 20-25 minutes the movie start loosing the plot. The movie misleads in between and after a point of time it will feel boring. Action is good, Vin diesel is as good as always. The movie could have been better provided with a good screenplay.