WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
I think this is the first character where Vin Diesel actually plays an out-and-out hero. Put it this way, Xander Cage = criminal, Richard B.Riddick = murderer and Fast and the Furious = not so clean cut either. I don’t know how many of you know this, but he actually took this role because he had decided to star in more films that his children could watch. OK, they can’t see Daddy’s face in Guardians of the Galaxy but it’s a good step.
Babylon A.D
I don’t know about anyone else but the title of this film genuinely made me expect something more sci-fi than what was actually delivered. The best way I can describe it is like The Transporter but set in a dystopian future. Truthfully, and I’m not sure if this is down to Vin Diesel’s acting or the way he was asked to play the character of Turab but it was a little too Xander Cage for my liking. On top of that, somehow the way he speaks to the two little girls at the end is just a little bit awkward – there’s no fatherly tone in his voice at all, and you would’ve thought that by this time, as they’re now two years old, he would’ve developed some sort of paternal nature.
Saving Private Ryan
I’ll be honest, I had to watch this film a second time because I completely forgot to write this paragraph. If I had, you would’ve had this article a while ago. Interestingly, this was only his second feature length credit. Anyway, after the second watch, I noticed something that I hadn’t spotted before. There’s a moment when the squad are on their way to save Private Ryan and end up back in the line of fire there’s the sound of gunshots but Diesel’s character of Caparzo is casually picking through apples on the street! For me, because it’s such a mundane behaviour it’s a juxtaposition to what’s happening around him. Reminds me of a certain clip from 300. The moment that we lose Carpazo from the film, breaks my heart every time – even more so when he says he couldn’t give the little girl back because she reminds him of his niece, and like any soldier, he’s dies trying to be a hero – trying to do the right thing.
Find Me Guilty
First off, I just want to say how weird I found it finally watching a film where Vin Diesel has hair. Now, I love a true story but I love it even more when I find out that a lot of the script is taken from the original court transcripts. I genuinely expected this to have the same feel as The Trial of the Chicago Seven (if you haven’t seen it, watch it but be prepared for a bit of a tear jerker) however, there is a much more comedic twist and all of that is brought on by Vin Diesel’s character of Jackie DiNorscio and I think that’s great. The reason for this is that it genuinely makes you see what DiNorscio was really like and, because I am so used to Vin Diesel playing more serious characters in action roles, it gets even better because you see the development of DiNorscio’s character from a wise-cracker making the jury laugh to him behaving like an actual lawyer.
Honorary Mentions
I’ve already referenced the previous franchises that Vin Diesel has appeared – one of my favourites being the Chronicles of Riddick (soon to become a quadrilogy…) and the fact that he has decided to start starring in certain types of films so that his children can watch; I found that quite interesting as he had already made The Pacifier and The Iron Giant by this point in his career. I actually thought that he also had a writing credit alongside his acting credit for The Last Witch Hunter but I was wrong, however he was supposedly writing the script for the second film during lockdown.
