Product: xXx [VHS] (2002)
Rating: 4.0
Fast and furious extras
Say what you will about the quality of Rob Cohen's fast-and-furious action films, but there's no denying the man knows how to keep things moving.The director of "XXX" preaches it's a sin to waste even four seconds of screen time. His philosophy carries over to DVD extras, all too often bloated affairs perpetrated by filmmakers who should know better.Cohen and making-of director Todd Grossman apply feature film techniques to their bonus material: The docus feel a lot like "XXX," with hair-trigger editing, freeze-frames, pounding techno and plenty of hip atmospherics. DVD viewers are left wanting more, not less. They get it in the director's commentary, in which Cohen renders a history of the production that's at least as dramatic as his X-generation spy movie.Audio and video are first-rate, approaching reference quality. Cool-looking menus cut clear paths to content, except for a needless opening screen. The Dolby Digital 5.1 gets down to business right away, startling in its sonic realism. Rear effects are aggressive but smart, rarely tacky. The mix does some jaw-dropping 360s. "XXX" should be required listening for those who transfer movie sound to home video.Widescreen images come across with fiery intensity -- but clean up nicely for nighttime shots of the ancient city of Prague. The transfer deftly captures the offbeat visions of cinematographer Dean Semler ("Waterworld") and production designer Gavin Bocquet (the last two "Star Wars"). The full-screen version should work fine for folks with small screens, but the widescreen delivers a quite generous image area.Bonus: The disc has that great James Brown ad for the new GTO. Soul power, indeed.