Product: xXx [VHS] (2002)
Rating: 4.0
In the Xander Zone? Sort of.
Following an extreme stunt involving an pro-music censorship senator�s red Camaro (or was it a Corvette?), videotaping the destruction of said car while he parachutes to safety, Xander Cage is apprehended by scarred NSA Agent Augustus Gibbons. After passing a series of tests, Xander, soon nicknamed XXX by Gibbons, is sent on a mission to infiltrate Anarchy 99, a group of former Soviet military soldiers who stayed behind in the Czech Republic following the collapse of Communism. Led by Yorgi, who looks like an evil version of Rowan Atkinson with greasy, scraggly hair, they are planning something, but they manage to kill an NSA agent (Xander�s predecessor) during a packed performance by Rammstein, who play �Feuer Frei.� The German techno-metal group�s pyrotechnics and the frenzy of the club hints at the kind of excitement to follow.Xander Cage is definitely the diametric opposite of James Bond. Cage is more slovenly, a hulking barbarian with heavily tattooed arms compared to the suave 007. He gets things done more by brute force and his hoarse voice is a throwback to both Sylvester Stallone and Steven Seagal. And he�s got a bad attitude that annoys his superiors. Face it, this is the guy who videotapes himself doing stunts such as the one involving the Camaro�i.e. being in the Xander Zone, and selling videos abroad. Definitely a shameless self-promoter.This is the first time I�ve seen Vin Diesel, and as such, he�s all right, brutally powerful, intelligent (watch how he succeeds in the first test) but not exactly the kind of person one would like unless one had the skin of a rhinoceros.Asia Argento (B Monkey, The Stendahl Syndrome), daughter of Italian horrormeister Dario Argento, does well for herself in her Hollywood debut as Yelena, a member of Yorgi�s inner circle. She�s well the tough and strong-willed type, with a feline sexiness. However, the chemistry between her and Diesel seem mismatched. She works better with a more passive partner, as she did in B Monkey.Samuel Jackson is more restrained compared to his other movies, but when Vin Diesel�s the main character, what�s to expect? The concept of having a scarred superior was also used in the Airwolf TV series of the 1980�s, the one-eyed Alex Cord to Jan-Michael Vincent.And the audience is clearly geared towards a younger audience. Can you picture James Bond on a snowboard? That scene begins by a parachuted drop down a snowy slope, culminating in an avalanche that buries Xander�s pursuers. An exciting and well realized scene to be sure, but the parachute down the mountain was also done in Bond. Another nod to Bond is the use of high-tech gadgets and a technical staff member.The scene where Xander jumps over an exploding warehouse in Colombia did elicit an �Oh, come on!� from me. OK, action films do require some suspension of disbelief, but it didn�t work this time.Provided that the series tries not to rip off or replace James Bond, XXX has the potential to be a new action franchise, especially if they stay with one actor.