Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Best of the summer blockbusters, to date.
XXX (Rob Cohen, 2002)Here's a surprise: Rob Cohen, whose The Fast and the Furious was not only one of the biggest surprise hits of 2001 but also by far the biggest of Cohen's career, teams up again with Vin Diesel. The major lineup change here is the addition of screenwriter Rich Wilkes. Anyone familiar with the name should be ready to crawl under their seats right about now; Wilkes has been responsible in the past for such deathless cinematic fare as The Jerky Boys and The Stoned Age. Whatever Cohen did to Wilkes, though, he did it right. XXX is absolutely typical run-of-the-mill shut-your-brain-off spy movie fare, so cut from the cloth of James Bond that the opening scene of the film features a nameless tuxedoed secret agent getting shot in the middle of a Rammstein concert. Cohen and Diesel threw down the gauntlet from the get-go to Albert Broccoli and Co. (and if the trailers for the new Bond film are anything to go by, "Bond"'s death at the beginning of this film is most welcome. Actually, it probably should have come after A View to a Kill. But let's not be petty.) XXX goes right into the wonderful world of Bond starting soon after, including a scientist/weapons geek (relative newcomer Michael Roof, last seen in Black Hawk Down), a number of fabulous one-liners, and the most beautiful women in Hollywood falling at his feet, in this case Asia Argento. (Asia fans take note: you won't see nearly as much of her, in any respect, as you did in b.Monkey. Grieve now.) So what is it about XXX that makes it the best of the big-budget summer films? The movie does exactly what it promises. You go into XXX looking for a mindless action movie, and you get a mindless action movie. Diesel is one of Hollywood's hottest properties right now, Cohen is finally hitting his stride after two decades of failed attempts to be deep and meaningful, Wilkes wrote a script that actually contains some humor, and the three of them will be back together again for the sequel in 2004. Eighteen films from now, hopefully, someone will shoot Xander Cage in the middle of a Rammstein concert, and there will be a new superspy. Until then, sit back and enjoy the ride. *** ½
Rating:  - Dumb but not as much fun
Continuing the dumb but "fun" formula started with THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, the hotshot duo of director Rob Cohen and star Vin Diesel have combined their efforts to bring another silly, plot-lite action-fest to the screen. I saw XXX (Or Triple X) in the cinema with my expectations set somewhere between Fast and the Furious and James Bond, and I wasn't that impressed. Ok, don't get me wrong, I like brainless movies. After all, I think CON AIR is fantastic entertainment. But there is a standard rule: If the movie is dumb, then it has to be fun. This is not. Billed as competition for the James Bond franchise, it falls far short of such heights. Lacking both the wit, panache and subtlety of Bond and the fun silly action of Bruckheimer, it's going to have to set it's sights a bit lower. Oh, and what's with Vinny himself? the incredible hunk was good in PITCH BLACK and TFATF, but he looks like he's just sleepwalking through this jumbled mess. I actually give the film 2 1/2 stars but there are some good action set-pieces and Samuel L. Jackson is always cool. XXX is much more satisfying if you just want to watch endless stunts and fall asleep in the talky bits. But if the team of Mr. Cohen and Mr. Deisel are going to continue making movies together, how about letting Mr. Script join in?
Rating: - Perfectly respectable spy movie
When I saw this movie I couldn't help but compare it to James Bond movies. Since Bond has pretty much set the stage for all spy movies, I wondered how this movie would stack up. Overall, I was impressed; Vin Diesel may be the secret agent for people ages 15-30 or so.The movie has all the necessary things you'd come to expect from a spy film: at least one special agent, at least one beautiful chick, fast cars, explosions, lots of gadgets, and a villan bent on taking over the world. While these things are pretty much standard issue in the spy film genre, they also weaken the movie a little. The action sequences are really what keeps the movie going. Xander Cage (Diesel) fits the role of an extreme sports athlete, and the opening sequence really sets the stage for the things he's willing to do. Everything is a trick to him, from the opening scene involving someone else's car and a bridge, to jumping out of an airplane and snowboarding down in front of an avalanche. These tricks move the storyline along better than dialog would do. Cage is an action man, not a man of words. The plot of the movie is what makes me give the movie 4 stars. It's one of your typical spy movie plots. In this case the special agent isn't smooth and refined, instead of ordering martinis and talking about intellectual things, he drinks cranberry juice and tells people to "stop thinking cop, start thinking Playstation and blow stuff up." He shoots people with tranquilizer darts instead of bullets. However, this is the primary difference between this spy movie and most spy movie. There's still the beautiful woman caught up in all the trouble who falls for the agent, lots of nifty gadgets, and the evil villain. In this case the evil villain is a defector of the Russian army who heads a group that wants world anarchy. Overall, the movie is good, it's a nice change from the suave suit and tie agent we're accustomed to. While the idea of an unlikely secret agent isn't new, people ages 15-30 can relate better to a guy with tattoos who hangs out with professional skaters and goes to clubs better than they can relate to a man who goes everywhere in a suit, drinks vodka martinis and seduces women without a second thought. I really shouldn't compare this movie to the Bond ones, it stands on it's own as a respectable spy movie.
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