Man Apart & Boiler & Knockaround Guys [DVD] [2000] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Ok, let's face it. I got it to look at Diesel in the tight t-shirt, which in my humble opinion, is a darn good reason for renting the thing if nothing else.On the other hand, there may be those who want more in a movie: a plot, good actors, action, etc. You're in luck. This movie has that, too. You not only have greats Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich, but also some young men who definately will be greats in their own time, like Barry Pepper, Andrew Devoli, Seth Green, and the reason I bought the flick -- Vin Diesel.Matty (Barry Pepper), convinced as a child that he was not "up" to being a mobster, has been trying to get a straight job but keeps getting shot down because his father is the infamous Benny Chains (Dennis Hopper). My first thought here was "Why not move to another state where folks have no idea who Benny Chains is?", which was the reaction in a small Montana town but I guess that would have killed the story.Anyway, he finally convinces Dad to trust him with a money delievery which goes very wrong. His pal, Marbles (Seth Green), gets paniced and loses the money bag. (Knowing Marbles was a former junkie, why didn't Matty go with him?) Matty is desperate to get the bag back and enlists help from a couple of friends, Chris Scarpa (Andrew Davoli), and Taylor Reese (Vin Diesel).PLOT SPOILER -I'm editing here after the rebulk from someone about this part. I've apologized... Now -- I'm not a Seth Green fan. However, his death scene was absolutely wonderful. I was surprised at how he handled it. He did as much with simple expressions as some actors could with a page full of lines. Very well done. Vin Diesel seems to do better in movies (Pitch Black aside) where he is not the main character. As a backup he is consistantly very good. No exception here. He is the bad boy in the group. (In his first scene no one ever explained WHY he bashed in his own machines before roughing up the owner of the store. Seemed pointless to me...) Onward. THE FIGHT SCENE. In order to get information they decide they need to find out who the toughest guy in town is, beat the crap out of him, and take it from there. They find the guy who isn't the least bit afraid of them. As he and Diesel stand nose to nose, Vin takes off his jacket (once my breathing normalized I noticed the bad guy had much the same reaction as myself!) and starts his "500 fights" monologue. This is obviously a psychological ploy to get the bad guys thinking and nervous. It works. Then Diesel beats the crap out of him.The road to the money gets rockier as time goes on, resulting in a good action climax.The movie isn't flawless, but some of the acting definately was. Not a bad actor in the bunch, good action, decent plot. Well worth owning.

Knockaround Guys is the story of four friends who are related to and associates of real mob guys. In the course of trying to prove their worth to the "knockaround guys i.e. the mob they mess up a money pickup. This puts the mob father and uncle of Matty (one of the young guys) in a cross with the big boss. Now everyone is trying to get the money: the mob, the young men trying to prove themselves, corrupt small town sheriffs, and some inane skateboard stoners.The story is an interesting study of relationships corrupted by greed and stupidity. But it is more interesting for the juxtiposition of genuine friendship/loyalty as measured against the often bogus devotion of blood family ties and business associations. The performances are uniformly terrific-even the lesser roles. However Vin Diesel really stands out as the intelligent strong arm who believes he is out of options for himself but offers to let Matty avoid the showdown which promises to be lethal. He owns every scene in which he appears, not just because of his physical presence but because of his quiet intensity. You can believe that this is more than a talented actor reciting lines.If you prefer highly intellectual movies this will not be your cup of tea. However, people who believe that loyalty, friendship, and courage actually exist apart from the "situational" morality/cowardice that threaten to rot out society will appreciate the film.

Great movie for anyone's collection

Bought because like Vin Diesal

Runs kind of like a parody but truly gangsta

A good buy for three Van Diesel movies in one package.

Thanks!

This movie is great! 500Watch to find out what it stands for.

Interesting cameo of Delia AB masquerading as Wibo MT. Reasonable movie, early in the careers of some interesting actors.

awesome

einfach klasse DVD....ein muss für alle DVD -Fan's......die ihre Sammelleidenschaft erweitern,hoffe es folgen noch viele davon...vielen Dank auch dafür...

zum verkaeufer kann ich nichts negatives berichten alles ordnungsgemaeß verlaufen. von dem film bin ich allerdings sehr enttaeuscht er hat mich sehr gelangweilt.

Looked for this movie for a while perfect!