No Surrender Cinema: A Man Apart
DEA agent Sean Vetter just sent the world’s most notorious drug kingpin to prison, but the celebration was short-lived when someone sent Vetter’s wife to an early grave. Now vengeance is on Sean’s mind, but the journey he’s on is about to take some unexpected turns, especially when his nemesis also becomes a target. Find out what happens when Vin Diesel goes on a relentless quest to bring his wife’s killer to justice in A Man Apart!
After seven years and numerous failed attempts to bring down Memo Lucero, a DEA task force that includes Vetter and his best friend Demetrius Hicks (Larenz Tate) finally find success when they track Lucero down in Mexico. The bust buys Sean some much needed R&R, and what better way to spend his free time than by getting frisky with his wife Stacy (Jacqueline Obradors) and their beachfront home. Lucero’s arrest brings Sean and his DEA buddies so much joy that they even hold a barbecue to celebrate, one that is attended by Sean’s DEA buddies and old friends like Big Sexy (not Kevin Nash, this one has more Godfather like qualities). Vetter and Hicks are letting loose and having a grand old time at the party, but their superior, Frost, seems to think that their jovial attitudes may be a bit premature. He warns of possible retaliation, but Vetter refuses to feel threatened, even though bad things begin happening to people in Lucero’s orbit.
The film wastes no time in allowing for Frost’s prediction to come true, because the night of the party, after salsa dancing in the sand with his wife, The Vetter’s are in bed when they’re awakened by gunfire. Sean is wounded, but the news is worse for Stacy, who is bleeding out on their bedroom floor. Stacy starts fading fast while in her husband’s arms as he’s calling 911, and the next time we see him he’s in a hospital bed with Hicks’ family and Frost by his side. When he finally comes to, Hicks has to break the news to him that Stacy died, and emotional rage immediately takes over. Sean disregards procedure or any sense of reasoning at this point, and isn’t afraid to revert back to his old gangbanger ways to get to the bottom of Stacy’s murder. His investigation into the crew that’s been running some major weight brings him into contact with some crazy characters, like the strung out junkie Overdose (who’s been hiding out in a house full of dead bodies to avoid getting killed himself) and Hollywood Jack (the great Timothy Olyphant), an arrogant douchebag who thinks he’s above the law and is more threatening than his appearance would lead you to believe.
The longer Sean’s digging goes on, the more his instability shows. The encounter with Overdose sees him getting the junkie to spill the beans by playing Russian roulette until Overdose caves. His first run-in with Hollywood Jack nearly blows the whole thing because he’s not having Jack’s smug bullshit. The most glaring example of Sean not being in the best state of mind comes when he starts to form a bond with the very man he put behind bars. After Lucero’s wife and son are killed by a car bomb, Sean forms an uneasy alliance with the druglord with the hope of flushing out the mysterious “Diablo” that could be responsible for the Vetter and Lucero murders. It’s all downhill from there as Sean’s choosing to handle things his way leads to more death in destruction in a violent shootout where both the DEA and the cartel see a drop in numbers, and Sean beats a man to death with his bare hands. The PTSD is causing Sean to screw up big time, and it costs him his badge, his friendships…pretty much everything except his unlikely ally. With Lucero’s guidance and backup from Big Sexy’s crew, Sean goes into A Man Apart‘s third act with guns blazing, making sure every score is settled once and for all.
A Man Apart wasn’t as successful as Diesel’s other fare, but what many people may not know is that this film wrapped up production several months before Vin hit the motherlode with the first Fast and the Furious film. It wasn’t until 2 years later, in 2003, that this film saw the light of day. New Line Cinema was hoping that once Diesel became a household name it would help boost the box office for this film and for the mafia thriller Knockaround Guys that he was featured in. Neither this film nor that one came close to the success that any of his franchises had, making this one a footnote in his filmography. Sure, there’s no street racing or wild stunts here in A Man Apart, but that’s because director F. Gary Gray piled on the grit, making some of the situations Sean put himself in feel downright uncomfortable. Couple it with scenes like the DEA vs. cartel shootout and A Man Apart has a very exploitation like feel to it, a characteristic that I’m surprised hasn’t led to it becoming more of a cult classic.
If you’d like to take a look for yourself, A Man Apart is currently streaming for free on the Tubi app, and can be had for under $10 on Blu-Ray or DVD. Don’t let all of the blockbusters under his belt overshadow Vin’s efforts here. Adrenaline pumping action, raw emotion, and some slight twists to the norm help rise this one above similar films of its ilk. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since Diesel was in this role, but it’s the type of role that I’d enjoy watching him sink his teeth into once he closes the door on the Fast franchise. This was 2 hours of my time well spent, so if Vin wants to get back to beating down and shooting up drug dealers the R-rated way, I’ll be there opening night just as I was for this one.
