Movie Info
Movie Name: xXx
Studio: Revolution Studios
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Release Date(s): August 9, 2002
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Just because you look like Tony Kanaan doesn’t mean you can drive like him!
Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is an extreme stuntman out to undermine the corrupt rich and powerful. When he is captured by NSA, Xander (under the codename of xXx) is assigned to Agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to infiltrate a terrorist group called Anarchy 99 which is run by Yorgi (Marton Csokas). Getting into the group is easy, but when xXx learns that the plans of Anarchy 99, he must team with an undercover Russian agent named Yelena (Asia Argento) to stop Yorgi and his men…even if it means going against Gibbons orders and getting a little dirty in the process!
Jumping a car….Extreme!!!!!!
Directed by Rob Cohen, xXx was an action-adventure film which popularized on the “extreme sport” trend. The movie was a big box office success and mixed reviews. The movie was nominated for a Razzie for Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted Movie.
xXx wants to be more than it really is. It wants to be the type of movie that wants the viewers to leave the theater saying “that was so extreme!!!”, but no one can live up to that hype and xXx doesn’t. It does however have some decent stunts despite being a rather generic action film.
Can I be in one of your dad’s freaky movies?
The story of xXx is almost incidental. The movie has terrorists planning on destabilizing the world through a chemical strike, but fortunately the trapped secret agent is willing to risk his life to stop it. It is so easy to follow the plot and everything occurs just as you’d expect to…there are no surprises in this film.
Vin Diesel has rarely been accused of being a good actor and the same is true for this film. He delivers lines like he is reading them. He handles many of the actions scenes ok, but it is probably due more to stunt men than Diesel himself. Asia Argento is nice as the turncoat (who is un-shockingly a secret agent as well), but the both Asia and Vin do better with less dialogue. Action star Samuel L. Jackson fortunately is here with his classic patented “yelling”, but is mostly a sidelines player…a pretty weak villain doesn’t help the cause either.
Shooting a gun….Extreme!!!!!!
Where xXx excels is some fun stunts. The movie relies on “real” stunts with little computer effects and that does benefit the movie. These stunts did come at a cost with the death of a stuntman named Harry O’Connor during a parasailing scene. It is always frustrating when someone is killed and the movie is so-so…it shouldn’t matter the quality of the movie but it is even worse when it is something like xXx which is rather forgettable.
xXx is an average action movie with a below average plot and actors. It would seem like xXx couldn’t get worse, but it was followed by xXx: State of the Union in 2005 with Ice Cube stepping in as xXx. The fate of Xander was explained in a short called The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage which killed the character. Despite this (and the failure of xXx: State of the Union) there has been some talk of Vin Diesel returning for another xXx film.
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