Product: xXx [VHS] (2002)
Rating: 4.0
"So how long have you been a secret agent?" "Two days."
In 2002, Rob Cohen directed the action/adventure/thriller "XXX" starring Vin Diesel as the heavily tattooed, extreme sports enthusiast Xander Cage, who is recruited to become America's secret agent dubbed 'XXX' by Agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson). Agent Gibbons recruits Xander because no regularly trained agent has successfully managed to penetrate a group of Russian expatriates living in Praque, Czech Republic that call themselves "Anarchy-99" and may have access to Russian biological weapons. Having very little respect for authority and living in a subculture of extreme sports enthusiasts and anarchists, Xander appears to have all the necessary qualifications to penetrate "Anarchy-99". "Anarchy-99" is headed by the former Russian soldier Yorgi (Marton Csokas), who has a seemingly emotionless Russian woman, Yelena (Asia Argento), working for him.With practically non-stop action in almost every scene and a dash of heavy metal music, "XXX" is an entertaining film, though its videogame-style plot is predictable. Vin Diesel does come across as the smug, anarchist-turned-hero secret agent, but Marton Csokas is not convincing in his arch-villain role, nor is Asia Argento very good in her role. Unlike the James Bond films of the 1960's through the 1980's that tend to emphasize suspense over pure action, Rob Cohen and writer Rich Wilkes focused most of the film's 124 minutes on action sequences edited together with little character development in between. Some of the most memorable action sequences include the bridge, the trip to Columbia and the avalanche. The final action sequence was less realistic. Similarities with James Bond films include Rich Wilkes' answer to the popular James Bond character "Q" (usually played by Desmond Llewelyn, 1914-1999) with his own in the form of Agent Toby Lee Shavers (Michael Roof). The closing scene with Agent Gibbons trying to get a hold of the preoccupied Xander was very reminiscent of most James Bond films. The film's soundtrack includes such heavy metal songs as "Feuer Frei" by "Rammstein" (which appeared in the film's opening sequence), "Bodies" by "Drowning Pool" and "I Will Be Heard" by "Hatebreed". Other groups' songs that were included in the soundtrack include "N.E.R.D.", "Queens of the Stone Age" and "Moby".Overall, I rate "XXX" with 3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars. The film will probably be more entertaining with younger viewers than older viewers, but if you enjoy action films with a lot of action and little plot, you'll probably enjoy "XXX" a lot.