A Man Apart (DVD)

...to start this opinion on A Man Apart by saying how and why I bought it.

I had seen the advert for this movie in various magazines and on billboard posters, but knew nothing about it. Strangely none of the magazines had anything about it! Could this be a ‘turkey’ of a film? (As it’s nearly Christmas thought I would use that!!)

I don’t normally talk about the cover, but this does give an insight into the film and is actually ...
...shows Vin Diesel walking down a street, shot gun in one hand and his badge (cop) in the other. The background is a yellow/sunrise sort of colour, with faint images of two sinister looking men, a police car, and another car in flames. Really this says it all! Cop film – guns – shooting – action – bad guys – cars on fire – and probably a women thrown in there somewhere for ‘eye candy’. (Oh no, I’ve slipped into using Americanisms!)

The ... more

I am going to start this opinion on A Man Apart by saying how and why I bought it.

I had seen the advert for this movie in various magazines and on billboard posters, but knew nothing about it. Strangely none of the magazines had anything about it! Could this be a ‘turkey’ of a film? (As it’s nearly Christmas thought I would use that!!)

I don’t normally talk about the cover, but this does give an insight into the film and is actually one of the factors that made me buy this DVD.

THE COVER:
The cover shows Vin Diesel walking down a street, shot gun in one hand and his badge (cop) in the other. The background is a yellow/sunrise sort of colour, with faint images of two sinister looking men, a police car, and another car in flames. Really this says it all! Cop film – guns – shooting – action – bad guys – cars on fire – and probably a women thrown in there somewhere for ‘eye candy’. (Oh no, I’ve slipped into using Americanisms!)

The cover is stunning. The image of Vin Diesel is supurb. I also note the cover because this yellow/gold type theme is reflected in the DVD itself. This is the first DVD that I have bought that is actually gold! Not the normal silver! How’s that for tying a product together?!

Now I said the cover was one of the factors in this purchase. Well these are the others…

WHAT MADE ME BUY IT UNSEEN:
I think Vin Diesel has a certain presence, not seen in other actors. His has a unique, sexy, husky ‘tough guy-but sensitive’ voice. He doesn’t have hair! (Great – I haven’t got much either!) And although he can sometimes appear a little wooden, he is not in the same stakes as good old Arnie! Or that ‘thing’ that use to tag along with Liz Hurley! (Only kidding – I like Hugh)
He is very well toned, but not over done (sorry again Arnie!). In essence – I believe he is an up and coming star for the future. He was great in ‘The Fast and the Furious’ and in ‘XXX’, and all this made me think… buy it!

The last factor for this purchase is it was cheap! I recently started using ebay. I was amazed at what I could sell and buy. Then I looked for this film. There it was. Months before it was out in England. Advertised as a region 3 – Thailand. It cost ₤6! I wondered what I would get.

I got a two disc set! The box had English writing- although a few spelling errors – Thai translation I think. But the DVD was original – great value.

THE PICTURE:
The picture was very sharp. At times quite dark though. Camera angles really vary and sometimes ‘steady cam’ is used whilst during some scenes, and at other times (like when the police raid a drugs den) this is turned off and you get a much more shaky picture – creating the feeling of being in the thick of the panicked action, and lots of cuts to different cameras are used to get the sense of immediate danger and focussed attention.

THE SOUND:
The sound is dolby 5.1. Yep none of the DTS or THX that makes such a difference to movies. However, the sound is as clear as the sky in sunny Grimsby! (Plug for my town again!)

The music is mainly instrumental – and is a mixture of classical and more modern styles. There is some Mexican music – during scenes set in Mexico!! Shock! And there is incidental background music from cars, bars etc. This film does lack pop tunes and thumping beats that come hand in hand in most action films – and I like that. Some of the greatest films – Indiana Jones, Star Wars et al – all use classical scores. This score is by Anne Dudley and she has done a fine job conjuring up feelings and emotions within the film.

If you are missing the thumping rap/hip hop numbers… listen to the credits at the end of the film!

Well down to the film itself.

THE FILM:
Sean Vetter, played by Vin Diesel, and his partner Demetrius, played by Larenz Tate, grew up together on the streets of Los Angeles, but now work as DEA agents. They are fighting a 7 year war to stop a drug pipeline around the US/Mexico boarder.

They are known as ‘the gunslingers’ due to their gun firing antics – a reflection from the days when they lived on the mean streets of LA.

Eventually their perseverance pays off when they take down the notorious Baja Cartel Memo Lucero, played by Geno Silva. (Great names eh?! Even the actors’ names are strange! – says me with my name!)

With Lucero locked up, Vetter can go home to his wife. Here you really get to feel the love between the two characters… getting you ready for the (unfortunately) predictable death of his wife.

This scene had me with tears in my eyes! Diesel’s acting was convincing, and the pain and anguish he showed was amazingly real. A horrible scene really, but well acted, and I guess all the happiness in the previous scenes built up this tragic event.

His wife was murdered by a mysterious figure called Diablo. (Yep another great name!) He takes over the Baja Cartel, and Vetter and friends go after him.

It is more than a cops and robbers film, and has some depth to it. We see a strange alliance between Lucero (in jail) and Vetter! And we follow Vetter getting his revenge – with nothing stopping in his way.

The effects are good, with lots of action pieces. The usual shoot outs you would expect are actually more believable than in some films. In this film bullets do actually go through cars and not just stop when the hit the doors! Cars do still explode after a few shots though!

The character of Vetter also ‘loses it’ at one point and kills a man (connected with his wife’s death) with his bare hands. You then see his partner shoot the already dead man and plant a gun in his hand – to save Vetter. Because of this you question whether they are the ‘good guys’ or not. Then again if someone just killed your loved one…? He certainly balances on the edge of justice and lawlessness.

It is a great film – especially for the price I paid. It is very dark visually, and I found that sometimes it was a little hard to see what was going on! But nevertheless it is worth seeing. It isn’t in the league of his previous action films, as this one shows more of a storyline, and more acting. It is full of twists and turns and unexpected moments. The ending had me guessing for ages, and then it suddenly… kept me guessing again?! (You need to see it to understand!) Everything comes together nicely at the end – and this makes it a film to watch a second time to see where all the clues were in the plot.

If you are a fan of detective/cop thrillers, like action (but not too much) and enjoy a good script, then I would have a look at this film. I am pleased with what I paid for it, but probably wouldn’t have wanted to pay full price for it – just because it is a film you can’t keep on watching over and over again. Maybe rent it? Then buy it if you love it!

THE EXTRAS:
Apart from animated menus – the backgrounds show action from the film – you get 4 extras.

1)Behind the scenes. This is rather different to what I have seen before. No director’s commentary, just footage of the actors doing their thing. In fact you see many scenes from the movie from the point of view of a camcorder! Everything looks very naff! It makes you realise what difference the soundtrack and quality of the film cameras makes. You do get to hear the director telling the actors how to behave, and you do see totally ‘behind the scenes’ – but it lacks the commentary explaining what is going on.

2)Sound bites – which consists of Vin Diesel, Jacqueline Obrandors (his wife) and Larenz Tate (his partner). Diesel talks about his part – basically explaining the plot for his character! This last approximately 4 mins. Obrandors talks about her brief roll as his wife and their relationship. (very dull and only lasts about a minute – phew!) Tate talks for about 3 minutes about coming from the street and how good he is at the part! These interviews are quite dull, and what makes them worst is that they are edited badly. The actor is talking – then all of a sudden the film skips – and they start talking about another part! Bad cutting.

3)Gallery. These still amaze me. Who looks at these? Why? 27 stills from the film. Wow. Dull. (A pet hate – can you tell?!)

4)Film Clips. Very weird! What a waste of time! You have the choice of 9 scenes from the movie. You click on them and hey presto – a section of the movie is shown! (Isn’t this the same as using chapter selection?) Perhaps it’s a Thai thing? I would like to know if the UK version also has this.

5)Trailer. The usual trailer (that I had never seen!) Makes the film look brilliant! Voice over by Vin Diesel in character and the usual husky voiced voice over man saying his usual bit – ‘a film starring Vin Diesel…’ I must admit I never understand why you want to see a trailer on the actual film?!

6)TV Spot. Here you have 8 small snippets of the film cut together to promote the film on TV! Oh yeah and the usual husky voiced voice over man!

7)Other DVDs – these preview (trailers) the films, Final Destination, Willard, Intacto and Simone. They are all exciting action packed trailers – then again I guess that’s what they should be! Basically free advertising for New Line Cinema – and of course employment for the husky voice over man!!!!!!!!!

TECHNICAL STUFF:

Director F. Gary Gray

Certificate: 18

Category: Action & Adventure

No. of Discs: 1 in the UK.

Running Time: 106 minutes

Year Produced: 2003

Audio: English - Dolby Digital 5.1

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 (Widescreen)

Anamorphic: Yes

Encoding: PAL

*NOTE* THE US VERSION HAS 7 DELETED SCENES - APPARENTLY! 

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