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Vin Diesel stars in “A Man Apart,” a film that transitions from romance to revenge.

Movies involving drug trade usually receive warm welcome at the box office. People are interested in the elusive business of drug cartels, evidenced by the success of films like “Traffic” and “Scarface.”

Director F. Gary Gray attempts to capitalize on this in “A Man Apart,” which blends the film’s personal issues with the violence and gore associated with drug trafficking.

“The thing that attracted me to the role was less about the drugs and more about the love story,” Vin Diesel said.

Diesel’s stars in “A Man Apart,” which is supposed to be the movie that allows viewers to witness the compassionate acting capabilities of Diesel. While “XXX” is a crazy neo-James Bond badass, in “A Man Apart” Diesel exudes emotions not seen in his previous films.

“(He’s) a different shade … a different type of tough guy, a tough guy who believes in fidelity, so much so that he can’t even get a lap dance in a strip club,” Diesel said.

There is a romance between Diesel’s character, Sean Vetter, and Jacqueline Obrador’s character, Stacy Vetter. However, Stacy dies midway through the film, impeding any further development of this romance. This moment in the film transitions the focus from romance to revenge.

“It’s kind of a thug love story,” Diesel said. “Ironically that’s what it really is, it’s a modern-day tragic love story.”

Sean must now take down a new mysterious drug lord known only as Diablo for Stacy’s death. Diablo has just taken control over the billion-dollar drug-smuggling business between the United States and Mexico but is unidentified until the end of the film.

Gray, who has directed films such as “The Negotiator,” “Set if Off” and “Friday,” smoothly integrates many plot twists, which will leave the viewer puzzled and anxious. In addition, the scenery, overall environment and different locations in the movie make it that much more eye-grabbing.

The film is intensely gory and features extreme nudity, yet the violence and nudity is appropriate to the plot and never completely gratuitous. The thing that makes this extreme action different than Diesel’s previous films is that “A Man Apart” deals with real issues, namely drug trafficking between the United States and Mexico. This film is intended for a more mature audience. Some of the graphic nature in “A Man Apart” was actually influenced by Diesel.

“Vin offered that maybe the best thing that could happen in this scene is that Sean should kill (the villain) with his bare hands and that happened on the day of the shoot,” Gray said.

Gray’s relationship with Diesel is one of respect.

“(Diesel) doesn’t have an ego, if anything, he is a smart businessman,” Gray said.

This is evident in Diesel’s pursuit to pitch his film as a romance. If “A Man Apart” were to succeed as a romance film it would inevitably increase his salary, extend his career, and improve his range of character choices. This movie makes a definite effort toward providing viewers with more than explosions and violence. However, it is still much more a Vin Diesel and drug movie than it is a love story.

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