Man Apart, A

Variety Robert Koehler

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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

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

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Effectively paced and nicely choreographed, the fundamental letdown of the ending results in a mild sense of dissatisfaction.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

A paint-by-numbers vigilante movie with the usual rogue cop, murdered wife and trail of vengeance.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

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.

USA Today Mike Clark

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."

Film Threat Clint Morris

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.

Salon.com Jeff Stark

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.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

While you're enduring the usual formulaic yada yada -- at least there are yuks to enjoy.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Arnold Schwarzenegger, move over: Your dramatic replacement has arrived.

Chicago Reader Staff (not credited)

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.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Just another bloody cop thriller.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

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.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

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.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

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.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

A film that sometimes suggests "Traffic" remade as a brainless action thriller.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

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.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

The film falls just shy of both Diesel and Gray's mark.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

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.

Film Threat Kevin Carr

The problem with A Man Apart”is that there is just too much badass going on.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

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.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

Violent and unoriginal actioner.

Washington Post William Triplett

It really should be arrested for impersonating an interesting movie.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

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.

The New York Times Dave Kehr

A series of gun battles follow, none staged with quite enough verve or imagination to break through the pervasive torpor.

Village Voice Justine Elias

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.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

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.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

The film would be totally unwatchable without the very real charisma of Diesel.

Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown

Sour, sadistic, and stale from sitting on the shelf since the pre-''XXX'' era -- an era I'm starting to miss.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

It's a little early for self-parody in the career of Vin Diesel. But he's a calamitous cliché in A Man Apart.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Raises a few questions -- like just what were they thinking?

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

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.