After the new crime drama A Man Apart opens and is reviled by anyone who watches it, I believe Vin Diesel, as a form of community service, should strive to never make any movie that isn't a dumb action flick.
It's simple, really: Diesel isn't an actor. He's an action superstar, and should never try anything coming close to a normal role for a normal actor. A Man Apart was only released to make Mr. Diesel more of a star than he already is. However, this movie did nothing but make me wonder why Vin Diesel gets paid to be on the big screen.
The plot is obvious and heavy-handed: Diesel is Sean Vetter, the ace of a DEA squad; the film begins with him taking down a drug leader named Memo, who's been sought after for seven years by Sean. Then, because it's a cop drama, we see Vetter, his partner Demetrius, and various others celebrating at a barbecue. The barbecue scene is just one of the many clichéd bits in this movie. After Sean has a passionate night with his wife Stacey, she is killed by some villains; the hit was meant for Sean, though.
Sean is wounded and goes to the hospital; he's understandably pissed when he finds out that his wife is dead. Immediately after he gets his health back, Vetter goes on the rampage, doing everything to get revenge on his wife's killers, who are apparently connected with a new drug lord named Diablo. The rest of the film has Vetter, with his partner's help, turning into a vigilante fighting the drug war.
A Man Apart is riddled with inconsistencies, hypocrisy and pointlessness. Is it me or wouldn't the Vetter household be safe to go into months after the death of Stacey? Why isn't Sean "allowed" (his words) into his own house? Why would Sean be so ruthless to tens of drug runners, and kindly to one? Most of all, and I realize this is trivial, does the audience need to be shown 18 separate subtitles telling us where the action is taking place? 18? Is that really necessary?
There is some good in the film, though. Timothy Olyphant steals his few scenes as flamboyant salon owner-cum-drug dealer Hollywood Jack. Too bad he's only on-screen for 15 minutes, at most. Another worthy performance comes from George Sharperson, as one of Vetter's high-school friends, Big Sexy. His comic relief is a nice respite from the incredibly incessant violence.
Speaking of that, this movie is rated R for a reason. I know there probably aren't a lot of readers out there with kids, but there were way too many kids in the audience. Most of the violence is un-needed and superfluous, and seemed to be there to keep the audience awake.
The direction by F. Gary Gray is actually close to top-notch, but it's wasted in this idiotic tripe. The screenplay, by Christian Gudegast and Paul Scheuring, should have been thrown in the trash upon its first reading. The only notable thing about the script is that it waits for 70 minutes to throw in the cliché "gun and badge" scene, where Vetter turns his gear.
Diesel, again, is pretty bad; the only scene where he comes alive is his first confrontation with Olyphant's Hollywood Jack. Other than that, his only emotion is anger. Larenz Tate is unexceptional as Demetrius. It'd be a waste of time to mention the other actors in this movie, for they are equally unexceptional.
Diesel produced A Man Apart, which is not a good sign. He should stick his money in the action pictures he's so good in. A Man Apart is not worth his action-star stature. In fact, it's not worth anybody's time, so don't waste your money.
Josh Spiegel is an entertainment writer for the Web Devil. Reach him at joshua.spiegel@asu.edu.
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'A Man Apart' Starring Vin Diesel and Larenz Tate. Directed by F. Gary Gray. Opens Today. |
