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A Man Apart
Metascore
36 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 32
  3. Negative: 12 out of 32
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  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    70
    Diesel makes a violent bid to align himself with the Clint Eastwood-Charles Bronson-Steve McQueen tradition, but he lacks the charisma, emotional strength and humor to do so.
  2. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    63
    Yes, there's a hastily added new ending - an ending that doesn't make sense when you think about it. Not that it's worth the effort
  3. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    63
    Effectively paced and nicely choreographed, the fundamental letdown of the ending results in a mild sense of dissatisfaction.
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    The screenplay tries to paper over too many story elements that needed a lot more thought. This movie has been filmed and released, but it has not been finished.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    50
    Just another bloody cop thriller.
  6. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    50
    It's all fast and furious up to its draggy finale, and yes, it could spark a sequel. Prepare yourself for coming dread in 18 months: "A Man Together."
  7. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    50
    Directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Christian Gudegast and Paul T. Scheuring, the movie isn't even worthy of former NFL linebacker turned straight-to-video action figure Brian Bosworth.
  8. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    50
    A paint-by-numbers vigilante movie with the usual rogue cop, murdered wife and trail of vengeance.
  9. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    50
    Standard-bore action stuff, in which a macho stud superstar blows away lots of bad guys while struggling to make the world a better place.
  10. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    50
    Arnold Schwarzenegger, move over: Your dramatic replacement has arrived.
  11. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Clint Morris
    50
    Diesel is good in the movie. He gets to dance, cry, romanticise…things we’ve rarely see him do in other movies. There are actually hints of a real actor there.
  12. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Jeff Stark
    50
    There's not a single moment when you wonder what might happen next or when the spectacle simply leaps off the screen. You've seen it all before.
  13. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    50
    Though it wasn't planned this way, it's an amusing exercise to view A Man Apart as an allegory for the war in Iraq.
  14. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    50
    While you're enduring the usual formulaic yada yada -- at least there are yuks to enjoy.
  15. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Staff (not credited)
    50
    The script for this action vehicle is like something you'd find under the cushions of Steven Seagal's couch, but Diesel, to his credit, digs into his role as if it were Hamlet.
  16. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    40
    The film works best when it's sticking to the guns and poses conventions of macho crime pictures. When it reaches for emotional resonance, the results range from unconvincing to ludicrous.
  17. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Kevin Carr
    40
    The problem with A Man Apart”is that there is just too much badass going on.
  18. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    40
    The film falls just shy of both Diesel and Gray's mark.
  19. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ernest Hardy
    40
    A Man Apart isn't awful, but it is almost reflexively rote, evoking countless other outlaw-cop films that are smarter, tighter and more fun.
  20. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    40
    A film that sometimes suggests "Traffic" remade as a brainless action thriller.
  21. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    38
    Sometimes, you can use a smaller devil to catch the Devil, the movie suggests. But in this case, the entire movie goes to hell in record time.
  22. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Megan Lehmann
    38
    Violent and unoriginal actioner.
  23. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Justine Elias
    30
    As limited as Diesel's movie persona may be, the actor has been notable for projecting a certain gentleness and warmth. That, along with logic and any sense of urgency, gets lost here amid the longueurs of a tired vengeance plot.
  24. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    30
    Standard revenge shenanigans ensue, with more boo-hoo numbers from Vin, who ain't up to it -- he hasn't been this lame since, uh, ever.
  25. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    30
    A series of gun battles follow, none staged with quite enough verve or imagination to break through the pervasive torpor.
  26. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: William Triplett
    30
    It really should be arrested for impersonating an interesting movie.
  27. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    25
    It's a little early for self-parody in the career of Vin Diesel. But he's a calamitous cliché in A Man Apart.
  28. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    25
    It will be interesting to see whether audiences embrace Mr. Diesel's barely controlled vigilante as warmly as they embraced Clint Eastwood's swaggering "Dirty Harry" and Charles Bronson's nasty "Death Wish" characters a few decades ago.
  29. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    25
    Raises a few questions -- like just what were they thinking?
  30. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    25
    The film would be totally unwatchable without the very real charisma of Diesel.
  31. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Brown
    25
    Sour, sadistic, and stale from sitting on the shelf since the pre-''XXX'' era -- an era I'm starting to miss.
  32. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    25
    There's a huge subplot that makes absolutely no sense at all and, in the end, the only thing the movie has going for it is Diesel's Neanderthal charm.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
4.3 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 17
  3. Negative: 9 out of 17
  1. Veritas34
    8
    This movie was great, I can't imagine how anyone is giving it a 0. I loved this movie. The premise was great and the entire movie kept me entertained. This is a very under rated movie that deserves much more credit.… Full Review »
  2. xxxxxx68
    7
    If movies were role models for a motherless and fatherless society lacking in too many ways to list, this would be a bad movie. Little Joey just wants to be superman. He wants your attention and admiration. He wants to be important and accepted. He is looking in all the wrong places so have a beer and peep into his private life for a little fun without getting your hands dirty at his expense. I have seen much worse but have seen better from VD. Cops and the government don't need any more encouragement to be in your business. Getting them out is the challenge if possible. I didn't fall asleep. I remember what happened. It brought me in and got me involved even if the story line is roughly familiar. Not much new here but not bad.… Full Review »
  3. Matt
    9
    underrate film from F. Gary Gray.. Tight action and suspence keep this film a cut abouve the rest
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