A Man Apart

Starring: Vin Diesel, Larenz Tate, Steve Eastin

Directed by: F. Gary Gray

Rated R

109 min

2 Gus Heads

Vin Diesel is pissed in that assassins-killed-my-wife-and-a-drug-lord-is-smuggling-obscene-amounts-of-cocaine-into-the-United-States-and-somebody-kicked-my-puppy sort of way.

While no animals were injured or placed in harm's way, Diesel did better than play a mere mono-emotional bad guy gone good and gone bad again and all working without a net in "A Man Apart."

The net being a properly done script, which is no better written than the tagline of "When they took his love... they took his life. On April 4th. he's taking it back." The horrible dialogue and the paper-thin plot (predictable by a third-grader) handcuffs the actors in otherwise emotionally wrought scenes, slowing down the movie's pace.

Relying on the time-honored anti-hero motif made famous to Americans by Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson, the movie depends heavily on graphic violence and sparse gunfire fights to maintain a less than dramatic continuity. Unfortunately, those are the high points of the movie.

It all begins when Sean Vetter (Diesel) and fellow American DEA agents arrest infamous drug cartel leader Meno Lucero (Geno Silva), extraditing him back the U.S. and causing much rejoicing by Vetter and his constituents, such as Demetrius Hicks (played by Larenz Tate).

At a party, the interaction between Vetter and his wife portrays the smooth intimacy we all crave in relationships and also establishing the socio-economic binaries between Vetter's house (beach front property and a spacious house) and Hick's inner-city low-rent domicile.

The introduction of the character Big Sexy (George Sharperson) hints at Vetter's former gangster lifestyle. As a former street thug Vetter and his partners apparently qualify better as narcotics officers. At least Vetter's past explains the propensity for pugilist activity and his affinity towards large guns.

The plot manifests after hired gunmen slay Vetter's wife, Stacy (the extremely attractive Jacqueline Obradors). With little reinforcement of the bond between Stacy and Vitter, audience compassion for Diesel's character sputters, leaving moviegoers with little sympathy for Sean Vitter, further hampering the movie's flow.

After awakening in the hospital, Vetter vows revenge as he confronts who he believes orchestrated the murder, Lucero.

With Lucero behind bars, a new drug lord emerges by the name of Diablo. Diablo kills Lucero's family and takes over the cartel. Vetter believes this new Diablo is responsible for killing his wife.

Vetter heads the investigation for the new cartel, until during a bust he beats a man, who admits to killing Stacy Vetter, to death. Vetter loses his badge and must circumvent the law to bring down Diablo.

While many will appreciate Diesel's limited role, his strengths, line delivery and imposing stature do help the lead role in creating an appreciative protagonist. But are narcotics officers that built? Diesel's dependency upon his physique and looks will hurt down the road, when type-casters are the only individuals calling Diesel's agent.

It seems Diesel is content with these roles with rumors of him reprising his lead role from "XXX". More interesting news is a spin-off of his "Pitch Black" role in "Riddick".

Both Silva and Timothy Olyphant deserve some honorable mention with their performance in an otherwise dry environment. Olyphant who plays Hollywood Jack Slayton provides solid entertainment in his performance as a drug dealer.

Fans of Diesel might enjoy "A Man Apart" but shouldn't expect fabulous car chases or a deeply troubled hero. However, with a few solid gunfight scenes and a few episodic frames of fist-to-face violence, "A Man Apart" stands on its own two feet with a little help from Vin Diesel.