XXX (2002) Synopsis:
Xander "XXX" Cage is a notorious underground thrill seeker who, until now, has been deemed untouchable by the law. NSA Agent Gibbons forces XXX to cooperate with the government to infiltrate an underground Russian crime ring to avoid going to prison. Betting XXX can succeed where other conventional spies have failed, Gibbons sends XXX to enter this world of crime undetected, using his natural athletic prowess and a whole lot of attitude. Enlisted for a dangerous covert mission, he must combat a clever, organized and ruthless crime enemy far beyond the scope of his experience.
XXX (2002) Movie Review:
There are 2 kinds of people in the world today: those who like Vin Diesel, and those who don't, needless to say it's the former of the aforementioned groups that'll dig Triple X the most. Everyone else would be well advised to steer clear of Rob Cohen's ('The Fast And The Furious') stunt-a-second spy thriller, which sees Vin as an extreme-sports anarchist whose coerced into becoming a government spy and shutting down another, more deadly, anarchist ring in Czechoslovakia (and yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds).
The audience reaction to 'XXX' reminded me of the time when 'Deep Blue Sea' was playing back in 99: the majority of reviews savaged Renny Halrin's shark-attack thriller, but despite the critical mauling, people were lapping it up night after night: clapping, cheering, jumping miles out of their seat when Samuel L. Jackson gets eaten by a GM shark, in other words: PEOPLE HAD A GOOD TIME, and why not?
I mean 'XXX' is a buncha nonsense: But remember that thing about the world being divided up into 2 groups? Well I'm definitely in the first group there: I reckon Vin Diesel's a super-cool bloke, granted, he's not the best actor in the world, nor should he be made to 'smile' or 'shout' (two things he does here). But the man has some made some pretty cool movies in his seven-year acting career: 'Pitch Black' was one of the most enjoyable sci-fi films in years, 'Multi-Facial' a wry satire on racial discrimination whilst 'The Fast And The Furious' is also a guilty pleasure…in fact no, fuck it, it's a top movie: no guilt necessary folks.
The only point of contention being that those who like their actors… well; 'unleaded' needn't apply, but just to make it clear to you guys that me being a Vin Diesel fan doesn't mean that I'll overlook the movie's flaws, here's a quick rundown of everything that's wrong about 'XXX': a pedestrian script (I mean, at least 'The Fast And The Furious' had a catchphrase), B-style plot dynamics and a dumbass storyline…Now here's everything that's cool about it: Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Asia Agento (a.k.a. hot Italian babe, who, incidentally, is also a pretty good director) mad stunts and err…mad stunts.
In all honesty; this is probably the weakest of all The Man's recent projects, but 'XXX' still cuts the mustard as a shamelessly entertaining movie that aims to please and, for the most part; does.
On the basis of this movie, I'd have to say that my favourite kind of Vin Diesel performances are the ones where he's cast as an early Eastwood-esque anti-hero (i.e. a film where he doesn't have to lark about or shout as much). For though 'XXX' is a good end-of-the-summer actioner, I know it'll be better value on DVD; for in spite of all its kick-ass exuberance and sass, its kinda like buying a comic book and just looking at the pictures: good fun while it lasts, but probably not worth queuing up for, Buy the DVD, and see it before they make a sequel.
Good fun, but needed a much better script: 8/10 (take a point off if you're not a Vin Diesel fan!)
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XXX (2002) review written by: Kasif Ahmed
7th September, 2008 
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