Product: xXx [VHS] (2002)
Rating: 3.0
Vin Diesel, savior of mindless action (good thing, for now).
I didn't much care for The Fast and the Furious, but Vin Diesel's (and director Rob Cohen) follow-up film, XXX, is a blast. How much you enjoy the movie depends on how willing you are to stick with a Bond rip-off. Virtually everything about the movie is Bond-inspired; we have characters similar to M and Q, the maniacal villain, the sexy love interest, and the requisite battle between two opposing armies in the villain's fortress. If this all sounds like fun, then give the movie a shot. Otherwise, you've been warned.Diesel stars as Xander Cage, a social rebel who's apprehended by a scar-faced government agent named Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson). He makes a deal with Cage: pose undercover for him in Europe and all his debts to society are paid. With no other options, Cage agrees, becoming a secret agent out to stop an anarchic group headed by an extremist named Yorgi (Martin Csoka), who has plan to create worldwide chaos. Along for the ride is Yelena (Asia Argento), Yorgi's thoroughly unhappy girlfriend looking for a way out. You can bet it'll take major firepower for that to happen.As far as Bond-inspired formulas go, XXX is only slightly less enjoyable than the underrated Mission: Impossible II, and with the exception of The World is Not Enough, it's better than every Bond film dating back to For Your Eyes Only. And it's funny I should say that because I was ready to bash the movie after the first hour, which is fairly weak and slow moving.What's wrong with the first half, you might ask? That problem would be talk. There's too much expository dialogue and most of the details surrounding the villain's nefarious plan are completely unengaging. There's also the painful sense of "PG-13ifictation", what with the lack of profanity and nudity (not that it's needed, but a lot of it feels catered to teens). The big motorcycle chase through the Columbian drug field is bogged down by too much slow motion, and the Bond-inspired score is pretty lame (though it might grow on me over the years, depending on how successful the franchise is). The only genuinely fun segment in the first hour is the coffee diner scene, a nice little "test" that's cleverly executed and hilarious.So it's not until the second half XXX really takes off. There's spectacular action and stunts galore; we get chases, fisticuffs, and gun battles, all of them slickly executed and exciting to watch. But the two best setpieces are saved for last; this includes the avalanche scene, a completely implausible but nonetheless exhilarating sequence that's convincing on a visual level. Best and most thrilling of all the action is the final chase, with Diesel and Argento on a souped-up car going after a doomsday device on the water. Kudos must go to Rob Cohen, who knows how to deliver the thrills without resorting to quick-cuts and MTV-style editing, a problem that's managed to affect even high-gloss Oscar bait like Gangs of New York.Even with all the action, what makes the movie appealing is Vin Diesel's presence. With past action stars fading, he's taking up the reins, and while he's not quite as charismatic an action hero as Jason Statham (from The Transporter), he's every bit as cool. Asia Argento's role is sort of a throwaway, but she makes the most of it and she and Diesel share enough chemistry to make for a likeable pair. I hear both actors are coming back for the sequel, as well as Jackson, and I for one am looking forward to it.