My initial reaction to the end of “A Man Apart” was, “I am so confused right now. What just happened?” Once I sorted through and absorbed what I had seen I came to the conclusion that while “A Man Apart” was not the best movie ever, it was a descent effort. The fact that it had so many twists and turns hindered its appeal. I spent more time trying to figure out what was going on than I did actually enjoying the movie.
Early on, I thought the plot was a little unorganized. Shaun Vetter, played by Vin Diesel, is a narcotics cop in the Mexico and California area. He and his partner, played by Larenz Tate, spent seven years tracking the leader of the biggest drug cartel, Memo. Finally they catch up with him at a strip club and arrest him. And the most cliche part comes next: Memo vows to make Vetter’s life a living hell.
A few days later, two men enter his home and kill Vetter’s wife. The twist is that they were sent by Diablo, an emerging drug lord, or so we are led to believe. From this point on, Vetter pledges to revenge his wife’s death by any means necessary. He becomes a ruthless and bad tempered cop who flies off the handle at a whim.
Here is where the movie takes a strange twist. It is unclear if he is truly avenging the death of his wife or if he is trying to shut down the up-and-coming drug lord, Diablo. I didn’t know whether I should believe it was personal or if he was just doing his job.
At this point I think the problems are a matter of poor directing because I should not have been this befuddled if the director had done his job right. I think F. Gary Gray was too caught up in making “A Man Apart” action-packed and full of twists and turns that he strayed away from the plot. Action and suspense keep a movie going, but in no way are they supposed to hinder the storyline.
I had a lot of issues with the direction of the film. I was particularly repulsed by the many scenes that took place in strip clubs. They found any excuse to be in a bar with half-naked women walking in the background. I did not see how that served the film.
I also did not like the fact that 95 percent of the scenes were shot at night. I guess he was
trying to depict the drug-dealing world in a realistic manner.
On a lighter note, Hollywood Jack brightened up the film tremendously. His character was funny and cracked jokes the whole time he was on screen. His quick wit kept me laughing and thankfully not confused.
My feelings for this film were surrounded by mass confusion. It had a good deal of strong points and good shots, but that was not enough to carry the weight of the film.
I liked the fact that it represented the drug world honestly. Certain scenes were very believable.
I didn’t like how it constantly kept me guessing. Suspense is good once and a while, but too much and the film can loose some of its credibility.
Overall, I think this “Bad Boys” wanna-be movie could have been a lot better. I actually expected it to be better because Vin Diesel is a talented actor and has the ability to bring a lot to a picture.
Rating: 2 stars