“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead already.” CASS' CLIP (WARNING: **spoilers below**) Sean Vetter (Vin Diesel) and Demetrius Hicks (Larenz Tate) grew up together on the mean streets of Los Angeles. Instead of allowing the street’s subculture to dictate their paths in life, they got their lives in order, by becoming responsible citizens with a little street hustle left in them to survive. Now, instead of committing crimes, these DEA agents work to fight crime. For seven years, Memo Lucero (Geno Silva) controlled the distribution of all drugs in and out of the United States through its border with Mexico. [Basically, when it came to drug trafficking, you couldn’t pass GO without Memo’s SAY SO. And, if you double-crossed him in any way, Memo would make your life a living hell because he was the devil reincarnated]. For seven years, Memo and the Baja cartel’s lavish lifestyle was financed by the drug pushers and runners on the streets of Los Angeles. For seven years, Memo eluded capture by staying one step ahead of the cops because he never stayed in one location longer than a day. Well, Memo, TIME’S UP! “Bad boy, Bad boy! Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?” For seven years, DEA agents, Sean Vetter and Demetrius Hicks, patiently waited for Memo to slip up and their surveillance pays off big time. Vetter and Hicks, along with Mexico’s elite drug agents, finally apprehend Memo during an action packed nighttime raid at a nightclub in Tijuana. Memo’s current residence -- behind bars, in a maximum-security prison. “Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)…There's a party goin' on” at Sean’s beachfront home to celebrate his and Demetrius’ years of hard work and Memo’s arrest. A good time is had by Sean’s DEA partners and friends on both sides of the law. The best part is that Sean can finally spend some quality time with his understanding and beautiful wife, Stacy (Jacqueline Obradors). [Their onscreen chemistry is hot]. And just when the Vetters get accustomed to being reunited, their lives are about to take a turn for the worse. But Memo is one pissed imprisoned kingpin. Being in prison is merely an inconvenience and Memo orders a hit on Sean. Instead of his crew killing Sean, they murder Stacy. Now, Sean is hell bent on making whoever murdered his Stacy pay big time. Sean goes out of control trying find her killer putting the lives of other agents at risk in a sting operation gone bad. His boss, agent Ty Frost (Steve Eastin), has no other choice but to take his badge. Revenge is the only thing keeping Sean in a semi-conscious state of turmoil. Between finding his wife’s murderer, he and Demetrius must also shut down a more violent cartel, run by a new mysterious leader, known only as Diablo. Problem is, Sean must team up with an unlikely foe to avenge his wife’s murder and stop Diablo. Will Sean find his wife’s murderer? Will Demetrius be able to save his partner from tittering on the wrong side of the law? And, will this conflict test the boundaries of Sean and Demetrius’ friendship and partnership? DA 411 A Man Apart opens with Vin Diesel narrating how drug trafficking from Colombia to the Mexico and California borders operates. I’m not sure why that was necessary, other than to give Vin more dialogue, since the dialogue in most action movies consist of “Yo man,” or “No, man.” [If you saw Vin in Knockaround Guys, you’ll understand what I mean]. Unlike his performance in XXX, Vin is really good in this movie, and I can certainly see him as the next big action movie star. [It’s a cross between Bruce Willis in the original Die Hard and Sylvester Stallone in perhaps Cobra]. Vin is witty, romantic, vulnerable, and, of course, handsome on screen. Even though Larenz plays your typical sidekick partner, he adds an element of believability to his character. He is also the kind of guy you want as your partner because he will definitely take a bullet or two for you. Jacqueline Obradors’ murdered wife character and Steve Eastin’s bureaucratic DEA agent-in-charge character are basically thankless roles. But, without them, there’d be no predictable plot. However, the surprising performances by Timothy Olyphant, George Sharperson and Malieek Straughter, keeps this movie entertaining. These street hustlers and wannabe drug lords of their own domain are both ruthless and straight up funny. For the most part, A Man Apart is a classic, ‘He Killeded my wife’ payback flick. Director, F. Gary Gray, has a pretty good track record with successful movies like Set It Off, The Negotiator and the original Friday. There are some hits and misses with the storyline (especially the ending), as well as a sting operation gone bad, which is reminiscent of the bank robbery where the bad guys shoot their way out of the bank onto the streets Los Angeles. Overall, Gray does a nice job keeping the audience’s attention with a combination of Jack Green’s slick cinematography and the infusion of a good hip-hop soundtrack. CASS' CONCLUSION When you partner the charismatic Vin Diesel with the always-talented Larenz Tate, A Man Apart kept me rooting for the good guys. And speaking of Larenz Tate... click on the link to read Cass' interview with Actor Larenz Tate A MAN APART: back to top Copyright Cassandra Henry, 2003 EMAIL: cass@3blackchicks.com