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A MAN APART
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars:
Vin Diesel, Larenz Tate, Timothy Olyphant, Geno Silva, Jacqueline Obradors,
Steve Eastin
Director: F. Gary Gray
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1, Full Screen 1.33:1
Studio: New Line Cinema
Features: Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Trailers
Length: 105 Minutes
Release Date: September 2, 2003
“You’re
beating against a billion dollar business. You alone are trying to bring down a
monster. As a cop, that’s impossible. You must become a monster.”
Film
***
Vin
Diesel is an actor of unique range. Mass audiences are now fully aware of his
ability to possibly become the biggest action movie sensation since Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Yet, in the wake of his back to back blockbusters, The
Fast and the Furious and XXX,
there’s a slight chance some have forgotten that Diesel can actually do some
serious acting, as demonstrated in his earlier films such as Saving
Private Ryan and Boiler Room. In A
Man Apart, you get the best of both worlds. There are plenty of high octane
action scenes, and at the same time there’s a heartfelt storyline that gives
Diesel the opportunity to display his intense, dramatic range.
Diesel
plays Sean Vetter, a dedicated member of an elite unit in the DEA. After seven
grueling years of hunting down the country’s most wanted drug kingpin, Meno
Lucero (Geno Silva), Vetter and his team finally track him down in Tijuana, an
action that will bring both triumph and tragedy to Vetter’s life. They execute
a raid on a nightclub and capture the wanted drug distributor and murderer, and
it appears as if a major step has been taken in the so-called war on drugs, but
it hasn’t.
Not
too long after the successful bust, and following a celebration party held at
his house, Vetter’s life soon takes a turn for the horrific, when numerous
thugs break into his home and attack him with gunfire. He survives the attack,
taking out the gunmen in the process, but Sean’s wife, Stacy (Jacqueline
Obradors) isn’t so lucky, and is struck by a fatal wound. Even though he sees
her die right before his eyes, Sean can’t grasp the effect of his loss. It
isn’t until Sean is laid up in a hospital bed, recovering from a gunshot wound
to the arm, that he knows his love is gone for real, as his partner, Demetrius (Larenz
Tate) delivers the news.
When
fully recovered, Vetter vows to use any means necessary to strike back at the
organization that ordered the hit on him and his wife. When confronting Meno,
whom Vetter suspects, in prison, the former kingpin insists he did not order the
hit. At the same time, an unknown man known as “Diablo” is said to be taking
over the business. Vetter and his team are then provided a possible lead in the
form of a hothead known as Hollywood Jack (Timothy Olyphant), who moonlights as
the owner of a salon in Beverly Hills.
Things
don’t get much better for Sean when he obligates himself to some deep
undercover work. Following a drug deal that Vetter has set up, he is asked to
turn in his badge, after an incident where he beat a man to death, after
referring to the cop’s dead wife. This leaves Vetter with no other option than
to take down Diablo on his own, even if it means resorting to his former
gang-banging ways. Both he and Demetrius were street thugs before opting to join
the DEA. When Vetter pleads with Demetrius to help him in his personal vendetta,
he backs off on account of the safety of his own family.
I’d
by lying if I said A Man Apart
didn’t follow an overused movie formula, which in this case is the revenge
thriller, but thanks in large part to Diesel’s marvelous presence, in what I
consider to be his best screen performance yet, the movie soars every step of
the way. It is also an extremely well made piece from a technical aspect.
Director F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job,
The Negotiator) and cinematographer Jack N. Green, who’s worked on several
Clint Eastwood films such as Unforgiven,
give this picture a sharp and edgy atmospheric look to it.
A
Man Apart
is a much gripping action drama that properly gives Vin Diesel to display his
action talents, as well as his acting.
Video
***1/2
New
Line is one studio that never manages to let one down with the presentation
quality of their discs, and A Man Apart
is no exception. The anamorphic picture is superb in its enhancement of the
various location sets, which consists of both California and Mexico. The work of
cinematographer Jack N. Green is wonderfully displayed, especially in the
purposefully grainy look he applies to the shots of Mexico. I did spot something
of a shimmer in a nighttime sequence, but that is my only minor complaint.
Overall, a pleasant presentation. A full screen version is also included.
Audio
****
Right
from its in your face opening credit sequence, the 5.1 mix on this disc pulls
all the necessary punches to guarantee a forceful sound presence. Every rockin’
sound aspect is totally in check, as elements ranging from dialogue to striking
music cues, to explosive action scenes. A shootout sequence about midway in the
picture is definitely the high point of the presentation. The sound presentation
also makes good use of the set pieces, including that of tunnels and crowded
areas, etc. A sharp, bangin’ listen all the way.
Features
**
Basically,
the only flaw of the discs, as all that is offered are seven deleted scenes, a
trailer for this and several additional New Line releases.
Summary:
