"XXX" is a low-grade action flick that asks to be compared with the James Bond series. It is not as good as the better Bond films; it makes ridiculous assumptions about its main character and uses villains that are neither believable nor interesting. But its action sequences and stunts are so grandiose that it is a must-see for action junkies.
"XXX" so resembles Bond films that we wonder why the producers could possibly suggest that this is the beginning of a new franchise. Do they really think that they can make an entire series of "spy" films copying the Bond series? Must the filmmakers rely on the exact same formula to be successful? I guess the answer lies in waiting for the inevitable sequel to this one.
"XXX" stars Vin Diesel as Xander Cage, an extreme sports star that has his own video magazine in which he (seemingly) performs criminal acts on government officials to teach them to use their vote more wisely. In our first look at Cage, he steals a California state senator's Corvette and drives it off a bridge to "punish" him for voting for initiatives that would ban rap music.
A government agent named Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) discovers Cage and decides that he would be a terrific, albeit decidedly unusual, secret agent. So Gibbons decides to kidnap him and subject him to all kinds of grueling tests to see if he has the stomach for it. In one sequence they dump Cage off in Columbia so that he can be kidnapped and tortured by one of the drug cartels.
Hold up. Wait just a minute. Diesel is listed as one of the executive producers of this movie. Are you saying, Vin, that you couldn't decide whether you wanted to be a vigilante voice of freedom, an extreme sports star or a "secret" agent? Are all three of these plot lines really necessary?
I could continue discussing the nuttiness of his arrival as a spy, but truth be told, Diesel does have a special charisma as a lead that is difficult to duplicate. I didn't mind seeing Cage con his way out of tough spots; through Diesel we are in touch with Cage's street wisdom and risk-taking mentality. A hero that is willing to scale a cliff ropeless to infiltrate the villain's hideout deserves some props.
On the other hand, the villains are lame. They don't get any impressive lines and their actions never surprise us. There is one moment where Yorgi (Marton Csokas), the evil ex-Russian Army officer, discovers the identity of a mole in his organization. Sneering, he says to her, "I knew about you all along. I chose to twist and turn you as I saw fit." This is a prime example of how this script trades integrity for plot shock value. The film is loaded with such stereotypical sensationalism -- lines that movie villains have used a thousand times before.
I can complain about the lack of integrity or wit in the plot, but it doesn't matter. The action is amazing! "XXX" has the kind of stunts that make us ask, "How exactly did you film this?" The movie is aware of the coolness of the stunts; it shows them over and over again from different angles -- James Bond meets X-games in an instant replay.
Again as executive producer, Vin Diesel scatters stunts throughout the movie, but a few are absolutely unprecedented. Consider the scene in which XXX sees a group of thugs in snowmobiles coming up the mountains toward him. He throws explosive charges behind him to start an avalanche, then races to the bottom to outrun them, allowing the goons to be engulfed by snow and ice. I remember avalanches in the movies, but not like this.
Another scene shows Cage on a motorbike being chased by a Cobra helicopter firing machine guns at him. I don't know how he does it, but our hero rides his motorbike onto the roof of a building and down the other side, the building exploding immediately after he gets over. Awesome.
"XXX" almost takes a cut straight out of a John Woo film when it comes to action, but without all of the gore and guts. It takes a few pages from the Bond films about ladies too, with some creepy underground Czech women to complement Diesel's rebel. Asia Argento plays a hardened Russian agent as X's equivalent of a Bond girl.
I guess we have a ways to go to see how Cage lasts as a franchise. He has the guns, the gadgets, the car and the girls to stack up to any Bond movie. But does he have the script?
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