A Man Apart Review
by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (shannon AT morgan DOT ucs DOT mun DOT ca)April 8th, 2003
A MAN APART (2003) / **
Directed by F Gary Gray. Screenplay by Christian Gudegast and Paul Scheuring. Starring Vin Diesel, Larenz Tate, Geno Silva. Running time: 109 minutes. Rated AA for offensive language and violent scenes by the MFCB. Reviewed on April 7th, 2003.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Federal agent Sean Vetter (Diesel) and his friend and partner Demetrius (Tate) are instrumental in the arrest of a Mexican drug czar, Memo Lucero (Silva). Soon thereafter, however, a shadowy figure named Diablo makes a play to take Lucero's place, and Vetter's wife Stacy (Jacqueline Obradors) is killed. Vetter finds that he may have to work outside the law if he is to uncover Diablo's identity.
Review: Vin Diesel can rest easy. "A Man Apart", filmed before his hokey but successful "XXX" and now released in its wake, may not make his rising star shine brighter, but it won't tarnish it overmuch either. This is a by-the-numbers cop drama, featuring a script which veers between cliche and bewilderment, pausing occasionally to reveal that, yes, some thought was actually expended on the plot. We're just left wishing that this applied to a more significant percentage of the running time. Consider, Stacy Vetter, for instance, who could not be more obviously destined for tragedy if she wore a big red bullseye as part of her daily ensemble. Or the closing scene in which the tables are turned on the film's cunning, resourceful villain in a manner which makes you wonder if a few pages from a different movie weren't accidentally mixed into the shooting script. Bizarre, especially considering the obvious pains taken by the writers to build up Diablo as more than just a cookie-cutter character. The same could not be said of Diesel's Sean Vetter, who's about as tedious a protagonist as they come. His street thug background offers the potential for more, but the only net benefit is the introduction of the entertaining hoodlum Big Sexy (George Sharperson), the man who should have been the focus of "A Man Apart". Now there's a movie I might pay to see.
Copyright © 2003 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
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