I would like to take a moment to make a simple announcement. Vin Diesel is not another muscle-bound, no-talent hack. So you watched The Fast and the Furious and you watched xXx and they sucked. I know they sucked. I liked xXx, but I still know it sucked. But did they suck because of Vin? On the contrary, they sucked in spite of Vin. TFatF was just a stupid movie; I really don’t think I have to go into explaining why. xXx is your basic explosion movie, and like most basic explosion movies, it sucked mostly because of a weak script. Despite that, I feel that Vin did his best to instill his lifeless lines with aplomb and a cheeky sense of humor.
Think Vin sucks? Time for your re-education.
Vin did the voice of the giant in The Iron Giant, an animated film by Warner Bros now defunct animated-movie studio (Iron Giant was their final film, finished as Warner Bros was literally tearing the studio down around their heads. The big honcho is now heading Pixar), which nobody can’t love. From the extra features, it appears Vin achieved that voice without any digital modification. I think he did a superb job.
Pitch Black. Yes. It took me a while to watch this movie, because I thought it looked kind of dumb. It’s now one of my favorite movies ever, and mostly because of Vin. This is Riddick before Twohy went all Lucas and tried to make an “epic” adventure. He did much better keeping it small. Vin’s interplay in this movie with Cole Hauser, who plays Johns, is frickin’ awesome. His play with Radha is a little over the top at times, but bear in mind that he’s Riddick and usually stuck underground with a bunch of men, and I think you’ll find his interactions with her more believable, if not underplayed.
Knockaround Guys. This is a fairly small role for Vin, but an excellent one. He’s a quintessential tough guy, and he plays it straight. He doesn’t try to make the role bigger than it is, kicks ass when required, and in general pulls the role off with pinache. Listen to his “500” monologue. The monologue itself is fairly cheesy, but Vin pulls it off. And how many other people could?
Finally, watch his short film that he stars in and directed, called Multi-Facial. I doubt you’ll find it by itself, but you can watch it as part of this Shorts Collection. I think it displays Vin’s versatility well. Also, his role in Boiler Room, though tiny, is great.
Watch those movies, and if you still think Vin is a hack, we’ll talk. Just you, me, and my crowbar. Oh, and if you just want to look at Vin’s shiny muscles, go here.
“500?”
“500 what, douchebag?”
“500 fights, that’s the number I figured when I was a kid. 500 street fights and you could consider yourself a legitimate tough guy. You need them for experience. To develop leather skin. So I got started. Of course along the way you stop thinking about being tough and all that. It stops being the point. You get past the silliness of it all. But then, after, you realize that’s what you are.”
6 replies on “Diesel engine”
In regard to your Vin comments: It seems so unusual to see one defend an actor so vehemently (especially one that most see as a simpleton muscle-bound action hero), did someone you know set you off on this subject? Were their comments out of pure ignorance of this actor’s lesser known (and superior) roles, or just someone spouting off because they were trying to impress you? Or maybe some people just don’t like Vin the way that you do? I hope your crowbar comment was firmly tongue-in-cheek, lest one might wonder if you are a bit sweet on said mucle-bound hero.
I’ll admit that I’m ignorant of the works you’ve mentioned. Thanks for opening the door, I’ll be doing some Vin Re-Education in the near future. Should I invest in a crowbar in case our opinions differ post re-education?
“my advice, do me. it’s what i’d do were our situations reversed. like i said, it ain’t me yall got to be scared of now.”
i’m a card carrying vin diesel fan club member. His acting skills are r0xx0r, even when he’s stuck with morons like that paul guy from the fast & the furious as lead. vin diesel is the original bfg. plus, he originated the cool abductor van with crowbar rig dealie. what more could anyone ask for? keep on rockin, vin. you too, a-dogg.
The simple fact that most people, except my close and movie-going friends, don’t like Vin, along with the annoying posts on IMDB, the only film discussion forum I really bother to read (probably a mistake) lead me to make this post.
Silly though it seems, I guess I’d have to say that Vin is something of a personal hero of mine, a symbol of strength of character and body. Perhaps not someone to emulate, but someone who’s name may be invoked in a difficult situation: “What would Vin do?” Haha.
Tongue lodged in that cheek, I assure you. Something of an inside joke, too.
From your erudite tone I’d wager you stopped in from Pragmatik. Do let me know if I’m wrong. Either way, welcome, and thanks for stopping in. I’ll put on some water for tea.
I had no real opinion of Vin Diesel until I discovered he is a certified ‘hard-core nerd.’ He plays video games, and is very much into DnD. (Check out question 2.) He even wrote the forward for this uber-nerd book.
I guess this doesn’t affect how I think of his movies (though I very much enjoyed the first movie I saw of his ‘Pitch Black’) but I have a deffinite liking for him now, as an individual. All my favorite people are nerds in disguise; Those with all the nerd hobbies, but none of the socially-inept-smelly-gamer-stereotypes. I want Vin Diesel to be my best friend so we can hang out at a cafe while he tells me about his level 50 driud. Awesome!
you just have a crush on Vin’s sexy bodice. it wouldn’t matter what movie he was in, you would still think it was great. just like me and any movie Juliet Lewis plays in (she rocks my socks)… or Uma Thurman
the fast and the furious really did suck though, not even Vin in a tiny tiny shirt could save that piece of shit. oh and that other one, it was a sequil (i never saw the first one) that was awfully bad aswell.
Paul Walker ruined The Fast and the Furious, and Twohy ruined that “sequel”, The Chronicles of Riddick. That and I got very upset when “Jack” died at the end. But I bought it anyway. Riddick is kick-awesome anti-hero. The end makes me think of the end of that Conan movie, though, which is an unfortunate parallel. At least, I think that’s the movie.
As for wanting Vin’s body: no, not really. I really just don’t think Vin is hawt, I just think he’s super cool. Sort of in line with Eve’s comment, his nerd power shines through. For straight up hot actor, I pick Benno. Vin’s more of a guiding force, as in “In Vin’s name, I shank thee!”
On another note, I’d like to apologize for how many times I used the word “suck” in that post. I had to bust it out in like 10 minutes, and now I’m simply too lazy to edit it. My apologies.