Product: xXx (2002)
Rating: 1.0
Brain-candy that lacks any flavor
For some reason, "XXX" showed up on my Recommendations list... I can't think of a movie I saw recently that I liked less.My wife and I were in the mood for some mindless entertainment, and we hadn't seen "XXX" yet. In the right mood, we like brain-candy movies. James Bond can be fun, and we even liked the new "Tomb Raider" film. We rented "XXX" hoping for something like "Die Hard" or "Lethal Weapon," maybe - just some fun where stuff blows up. Yeah, that would have been good. Too bad that's not what we got.As a plus, "XXX" has Samuel Jackson in it, and some people I know liked it, so we decided to give it a shot. Having watched it, I can only say what a waste of celluloid this movie was."XXX" is a collection of extreme sports and stunts that are a complete break with reality. A story that isn't anywhere close to interesting. A plot that exists only as an excuse (and a thin one at that) for the aforementioned extreme sports stunts.I have to apologize to Vin Diesel fans here, but while I see that he has a certain rugged, sweaty, muscular charm, he's an absolutely abysmal actor. He was all right in "Pitch Black," as part of an ensemble in which he doesn't have to talk much, but he doesn't have the talent to sustain a lead role all on his lonesome. He delivers his lines with one or two stock expressions and almost no inflection. And the way he kisses just looks nasty. Yuch.This is a film that doesn't even succeed on the level of gut-level, mindless entertainment - it's that stupid. It's silly, inconsistent, and superficial, and worst of all it isn't even fun. I was completely bored while watching it. I got it as a free rental, so all I can really complain about is the time spent watching it, but now I even want that back!I'm disappointed that a film like this can't even manage to be entertaining. I'm disappointed that a great actor like Sam Jackson would agree to be in such a stinker. But most of all, I'm disappointed in myself for even wasting the time to watch it.There now. Hopefully, that will make it clear that this film should never, ever be recommended to me again. Or anyone else for that matter.