Product: xXx [VHS] (2002)
Rating: 4.0
Espionage with an attitude
At the beginning of the movie, a man in tuxedo, conspicuous in his incongruity at a Rammstein concert, is gunned down by a sniper. Proclaiming to be "a new breed of spy", perhaps XXX hopes to do the same to that other secret agent we all know and love.Part of our love affair with James Bond involves suspending our disbelief. It would be hard to believe that a middle-aged Brit guy with average physique could pull off almost superhuman stunts. Enters XXX, a heavily tattooed tough guy with the neck of a professional wrestler and a temper to match. Vin Diesel is the perfect actor for the role. With Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis all past their primes, Diesel is fast emerging as the new premiere action star. He certainly possesses the body and the gruff visage. Better yet, he has more facial expressions than Stallone and smoother delivery than Schwarzenegger. Even his name exudes toughness (and is infinitely more pronounceable than Arnold's).Diesel plays Xander Cage, a bad-arsed extreme athlete who sports a shaved head and as many one-liners as he has tattoos. A sort of politically conscious outlaw, he steals a politician's Corvette and drives it off the bridge to make a statement. He is tracked down by a government spyboss (Samuel L. Jackson) with a scarred face and a penchant for giving pop quizzes to his recruits.After a brief trial demolishing the compound of a Columbian drug lord, Xander, now codenamed XXX, is sent to Prague to stop a Yorgi (Martin Csoskas, a lot tougher-looking since his role as the elf king in the Lord of the Rings), a madman hell-bent on world domination. Infiltrating the gang of toughs is easy, as Xander's reputation precedes him. Yorgi surrounds himself with grim-faced, tattooed, muscle-bound thugs and beautiful Yelena (doe-eyed and also highly tattooed Asia Argento). Yorgi concocts a complicated scheme to attack the world's major cities with biological weapons, engendering wars and anarchy. Xander's task is to prevent Yorgi from carrying out his plan, and the best approach seems to be through Yelena, who may have her own agenda.The parallels to Bond are unmistakable. Samuel L. Jackson's character is obviously inspired by M, though the NSA would probably frown at his methodology, which borders on blackmail. Xander's gadget guy isn't doddering old Q, but an excitable MIT nerdy frat-brother (yes, they do exist at MIT), though he just doesn't have as much personality and Q's endearing quality. Yorgi's villain cooks up a scheme involving a submersible delivering biological warheads from Prague to cities thousands of miles away; this seems to be an overly complicated plan compared to, say, just have someone fly there and set off the weapons. Didn't Austin Powers warn everyone about such scheme? At one point, XXX parachutes from a plane, snowboards down the mountain, and sets off an avalanche that buries his pursuers. Finally, in the end, XXX snuggles with the girl while his boss barks over the intercom for him to pick up the call.In this day and age of fierce patriotism, XXX is unabashedly pro-American. XXX steals a Corvette, gets messages on a Motorola, tools around Prague in a GTO, and soars over the Danube on a parachute emblazoned with an American flag. The new breed of spy is here. He sports a fur overcoat instead of a tuxedo, chugs beer instead of Martinis, and is 100% American.Of note is Asia Argento, who's best known as the notorious daughter of horror guru Dario Argento. Pouty Asia is competent but not spectacular in this movie. Nevertheless her sultry looks and spunky demeanor may win her a lot of American fans.The soundtrack has a techno-industrial feel. There is a full-length performance by the German heavy metal group Rammstein at the beginning. Orbital also makes an appearance half way through the movie.This movie is an entertaining, action-packed ride, a typical summer blockbuster vehicle. Whether it will endure as a Bond substitute remains to be seen. If you're looking for grittier, more visceral thrills, you may want to check out The Bourne Identity instead.