Great Film: A Man Apart
Not spectacular, but pretty good
One of those films which I don't think the current IMDb score (5.4)
actually captures.
It's a bit formulaic - ex-bad-boy super-DEA agent gets the bad guy,
pays with the life of his nearest & dearest, and goes out for revenge.
Even I saw the reveal at the end coming way-off (I rarely do), but I
still really enjoyed this film.
I thought it was very well plotted and paced; Vin Diesel played it
gruff, but mostly low-key (no huge sobbing moments, or tearful walks on
the beach, which was refreshing). His character, along with that of his
friend, were fleshed out into more-rounded human beings than the usual
action hero & sidekick. The enemies were straight out of 'the Big Book
Of Drug Dealers and Cartel lackeys', but Timothy Oliphant was amusing
and well played, as ever (also a great turn in The Good Girl).
And I found the violence viscerally satisfying & gritty, without being
seriously glorified, or venturing (too far) into Bad Boys style
Hollywood explosions, helicopter gunships, LA car chases etc.
Most surprising of all (to me) is that Vin agreed to grow his hair out
a little - as you would in an extended hospital stay - and roughen up
his otherwise clean shaven / macho male model looks. Wandering around
with the goatee, he reminded me more of the guy out of Cypress Hill.
Kudos also goes to the ending. It could have finished two scenes
earlier than it did, but the tying up of loose ends wasn't done in an
overly sentimental or triumphant way, which was similarly refreshing.
Good screenplay, good acting (in a pretty standard film like this), and
mostly avoiding the really obvious clichés of plot & character. I
really enjoyed it. On the scale of revenge movies - it's not as good as
Mel Gibson's remake of Payback, or The Rock in the remake of Walking
Tall. But it would hold its own alongside them in a collector's box
set.
Cast
- Hollywood Jack played by Timothy Olyphant
- Sean Vetter played by Vin Diesel
- Demetrius Hicks played by Larenz Tate
- Memo Lucero played by Geno Silva
- Stacy Vetter played by Jacqueline Obradors
- Ty Frost played by Steve Eastin
- Mateo Santos played by Juan Fernández
