Product: xXx [VHS] (2002)
Rating: 3.0
Great Action Sequences BUT....
The action sequences on this film are spectacular.... however, there are some obvious flaws. While the director can capture some real excitement in the action, and the scenes on this one are first rate, the lack of an interesting story, original dialogue, and some of the worst sound effects editing I have ever heard, make this film only average as action movies go.Van Diesel is terrific during his action scenes, and although there are times when the feats seem a far-fetched, they are still fun to watch. But Diesel's acting is truly horrid. The "fearless" nature of his character makes him uninteresting and 2 dimensional. You don't feel scared, excited, thrilled or amazed at what he does because he doesn't. Unlike Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Steve McQueen or Chuck Norris, who allowed us to feel their tension and fear, Diesel just goes along with what is dished out to him without fear or emotion of any kind. I ended up saying "okay, so what's next" after a while, and was almost as bored as his character was after awhile. Van Diesel is the SAME character he played in "The Fast and The Furious" (or as I have heard some call it.... "The Angry Little Clown Cars"). He is not tough, rough or heroic... he is mostly just detached and bored with his situation.Finally, as I mentioned, the foley (sound effects) were really poor on this film. There was music that came in and out at odd times, sound effects of huge explosions seemed like they were too low in their intensity and gun shots sounded like those from a BB gun. The makeup effects were just as sub-standard and appeared plastic.