xXx: State of the Union

Plot synopsis:
In Virginia, a rancher discovers dead bodies on his farm and is then killed by one of the assailants. The attackers use special explosives to break into an NSA bunker beneath the horse farm. Agent Augustus Gibbons fends off the attackers before barely escaping. Shavers, Gibbons' assistant, informs him that with the attack on the NSA bunker, "Bama" Cobb also had Xander Cage apparently killed in Bora Bora. To find a new substitute, Gibbons meets with Lieutenant Darius Stone, a former U.S Navy SEAL officer, who is currently serving 9 of his 20 years sentence in Leavenworth for disobeying orders and breaking the jaw of General Deckert, who is now the Secretary of Defense.
Gibbons helps Stone break out. Stone meets with Zeke, his old partner in crime, and Lola, his former girlfriend, who now runs an exotic car shop. Stone is instructed to recover a hard drive from the NSA bunker, and he manages to escape Agent Steele at the same time. Gibbons is attacked in his house and apparently killed, with Deckert and Sergeant Cobb covering up the plot. Stone meets up with Gibbons' contact, Mayweather, to get information. Stone goes to her safe house but is framed for the murder of 4-Star General Jack Pettibone; Mayweather is revealed to be involved.
The police arrive, and Steele enters and talks to Stone, who escapes afterwards. Shavers hacks into the Pentagon to retrieve Deckert's plans. Stone infiltrates Deckert's troops aboard the USS Independence and discovers Gibbons is not dead, but being held prisoner. Stone's presence is alerted by Mayweather. Gibbons orders Stone to escape and leave him. After retrieving the plans, Stone gets into a tank and fights his way out of the ship. He learns that Deckert is planning a coup against President Sanford.
Stone makes contact with Steele and shows him the plans. The former leaves in frustration, to Steele's initial disbelief. During a conversation with Deckert, Steele realizes Stone was right. He finds Stone and tells him that Deckert wants to kill Sanford and his successors so he can take Sanford's place.
Stone, Steele, and Shavers enlist the aid of Zeke and his crew. Together, they rob an 18-wheeler secretly hauling guns and equipment to the Department of Homeland Security under the guise of a cheese truck. They end up hijacking a tank, and Stone helps Steele infiltrate the Capitol building. A shootout starts, and Gibbons kills Mayweather. Deckert and Cobb abduct Sanford while he is making the State of the Union Address. They escape on a bullet train. Jackson arrives with a car, and Stone uses it to infiltrate the train. He engages and kills Cobb before engaging Deckert, while Steele extracts Sanford. Stone jumps out after Gibbons destroys the train, killing Deckert.
The story is covered up, and Deckert is buried and branded as a hero. Sanford awards Steele and the unknown soldier (Stone) the Medal of Honor, and Stone goes back to his former lifestyle. In the now-rebuilt NSA Headquarters, Gibbons, Steele, and Shavers discuss what kind of person the next xXx agent should be. Gibbons says that he has the perfect candidate for the job.

Tags: violence, humor, action, murder

Review:
A film that should be retitled xXx2: Don't Say We Didn't Warn You.Opening with an impressive first 7-8 minutes, this film moves into cookie cutter territory at a frightening speed and continues to derail any opportunity for the audience to engage in the ridiculous plot or heavily computer generated action sequences.Ice Cube will never be thanking the academy (he at times look like he would struggle to play himself), but the Razzie committee should be on the lookout for this up and comer, this type of dribble is the cinematic equivalent of being run over repeatedly by a truck with the stereo cranked up to 11.The first xXx was at least assure of itself, popcorn action with the acknowledgment that it was bang for buck and nothing more.
Willem Dafoe typecasts himself as the overacting bad guy yet again and X-Zibit pops in so he can possible audition for the lead in the next sequel xXx3: Turkey Season.Women are treated as fodder to either slap around or grind up against (sometimes at the same time) all to a soundtrack of nameless rappers inserted at appropriate moments so that the white kids can know what its like to be African American.My only positive comment on this whole debacle are the cars used in the film, not being a car enthusiast even I had to be quietly impressed by the rides in this film.
On this showing, you can't blame him.Trading in Vin Diesel (his character is written out by someone saying that he got killed in Bora Bora) for Ice Cube is no improvement; not only is he not the most expressive actor, but he's not that convincing in action (when he's being chased by Scott Speedman you just KNOW that Speedman would catch him like that (snaps fingers) in real life).
In fairness to Mr. Cube, he's far from the only thing wrong with this; Simon Kinberg's screenplay seems not only to have been aimed at emotionally and intellectually stunted 13-year-olds but written by them as well, with the plot starting idiotically and continuing from there - the villainous Secretary of Defence played by Willem Dafoe is so pantomime villainous that when he makes a speech to Jackson you're surprised he doesn't laugh maniacally.Suspending disbelief is one thing, but when you have a movie that expects people to believe that tanks can be handled like motorbikes...
And as for the way some of the shots go from film to what looks like video and back again...The cast isn't much good either, although it's fun to see Peter Strauss as the President (in spite or because of his not sounding like he believes a word of this); Xzibit not only helps parts of this seem like "Pimp My Ride: The Movie" but he can't act, Dafoe is Special Guest Villain level, and Jackson phones it in.
(Ironically, at one point on hearing the female string quartet Bond our hero complains about the music; they are not to blame for the aural wrongs.)"xXx2: Whatever" is so unexciting and so absurd that despite its stabs at relevance (our hero claims Dafoe is hatching "World War IV"), the only way to get through it is as a laugher; the sight of Ice Cube in a suit and tie (with umbrella!) is funnier than his intentional attempt at comedy later in the same scene.
Darius Stone(Ice Cube:BarberShop,Ghost of Mars,Three Kings) is recruited by the government on a special mission.NSA Agent August Gibbons(Samuel L Jackson)forces him to cooperate with the government and avoid returning to Prison.Betting Darius can succeed where other conventional agents have failed .Gibbons sends Stone to investigate in the high politic world,using his natural abilities and a whole lot of position.He's helped by agent Kyle Steele(Scott Speedman).His mission to gather information on a deadly conspiracy led by Secretary of Defense(William Dafoe) that may just be planning the taking over US government and substituting the President(Peter Strauss).Darius must combat an intelligent organization and a powerful enemy far beyond his possibilities.It's a standard actioner with no much sense where there are suspense,thriller,pursuits,struggles, explosions and minimum characterization.
The film is plenty of macho man incarnated by Ice Cube who makes an embarrassing acting.The picture contains fights,gun-play,chases,firepower and frenetic pursuits with bounds and leaps as when a water-motorcycle runs afoul.It's tense and exciting at time though also a routine unstopped action film less than memorable.Colorful cinematography by David Tattersall and appropriate music adjusted to the action by Marco Beltrani.The film is lavishly produced by the great producer of action genre Neal Moritz(Prison break,Torque,Swat,Stealth,Skulls,Fast and furious I,II).The motion picture is regularly directed by Lee Tamahori(Along came a spider,Once were warriors) who made much better in James Bond series(Die another day) .Rating : Below average.
And since the action sequences are the only reason to watch something like this, and they suck, there's no real reason to give this movie even a moment's consideration.The plot involves Darius Stone (Ice Cube) replacing Vin Diesel's character as the new, improved xXx and trying to foil a plot against the President of the United States.
What is NOT beside the point though is the fact that "xXx: State of the Union" employs the same method of action filming as many other Hollywood-movies of late.
seems like even money can't buy a good movie because even the fight scenes are uninspiring,..kind of reminds me of Steven Seagal movies where you're even hoping that the main character gets his ass kicked Characters: Ice Cube playing his usual badass self, although the release of this movie is in such close proximity to 'are we there yet?' that it almost seems like him and Vin Diesel (The Pacifier) have teamed up secretly to harm America with such bad movies.
The other characters in this movie including the main badguy (Willem Dafoe) are cardboard thin leading you to wonder as the movie goes along if the plot development will be just as bad.Overall Entertainment Value: 4/10,..I feel that the movie would have been better if they eased up on the whole government agency conspiracy aspect and focused more on stunts, which made the first one much more easy to watch.
I know that this movie may have disappointed many and I too was kind of cautious in the way i approached it but I was all in all quite satisfied, there is a lot of action and explosions and at times the plot may loose some people but I encourage everyone to give this movie a chance especially if you like action packed films.
All others did very well in making this movie into what it was and they all seemed to be on the same page as to what they wanted the final project to look like.I give this movie a mark of about 80-84% (sorry the stars shown is a little misleading mistake and it wouldn't fix it for me) and encourage anyone who enjoys the 007 movies and the original XXX to give it a try it deserves more credit then it has been getting..
Samuel L Jackson and Willem Dafoe (who evidently didn't embarrass himself enough with Speed 2) give shamefully mercenary performances, while Cube is about as convincing an action hero as Harry Knowles.Who'll be XXX3?
We all know that Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is not the xXx in this show, and he's being replaced by Darius Stone (Ice Cube).
Heck, I think the producers make the mistake of killing Xander Cage - mentioned in the movie as being killed in action in Bora Bora, Afghanistan, because in my opinion his character makes an excellent action hero.That's reminiscence number one - being reminded of what could have been if the charismatic Vin Diesel continued for this film.
Not too credible, but hey, it's only a movie.Did you know this film is called "xXx: State of the Union" in the US (referring to the President's State of the Union Address, which forms the finale), but I guess for those outside who don't care less about US politics, we're pretty OK with the dumbed-down title of "xXx2: The Next Level" - makes it sound like some arcade game.So buckle up and enjoy the ride, and if this is proved as popular as the original, we might see xXx3 (given the setting up of a sequel at the end), and the possibility of seeing a new face as the new xXx. Now if the producers just stop killing them, I'd think it's pretty cool to see a couple of xXxs teaming up.
Unnecessary sequel about ex-Navy SEAL-turned-imprisoned convict Darius Stone (Cube)—court-martialed years earlier for attempting to overthrow a four-star general (Dafoe) during a black bag operation—who's recruited by NSA agent Jackson to become the new XXX and thwart that same general—now the Secretary of Defense with his own agenda.
Nice CG and some great fight scenes.Ice Cube isn't bad as the main man and brings a new dimension to the character , quite different to the one portrayed by VIn Diesel in the original.
Lacked a decent story and many scenes...although it was XXX and an action movie...were quite fantastical .However if you take it for what its trying to be, a good action movie with great effects, then you wont be disappointed Don't go expecting intricate plots and romance Highly enjoyable all the same.
Hot on the heels of O'Shea Jackson's last epic (the ultimate actioneer that is Torque!)comes XXX-The Next Level.This time XXX has to have more attitude and be more dangerous, hence the casting of O'Shea Jackson(Ice cube to most of the world).Without going into detail (i wouldn't want to spoil this film for anyone) this film is a cinematic masterpiece.
I recommend this movie to anyone who likes good action, Ice Cube and Samuel Jackson..
There is no other way to explain this release of what is surely one of the worst films of all time.Watching Ice Cube trying to behave like Vin Diesel was just so embarrassingly pathetic, it has probably dealt a fatal blow to whatever acting career he might have otherwise had.
It also has clichéd dialogues, unbelievable fight sequences and a sloppy storyline that threatens to nullify all the positive aspects of the movie.Samuel L Jackson plays Augustus Gibbons, the survivor of an attack on the National Security Agency's top-secret headquarters, and a top propagandist of truth, justice and the American way (yeesh!).And Ice Cube is Darius Stone, Gibbons' only chance at stopping Secretary of Defence George Decket (Willem Dafoe) from overthrowing the US government and taking over the country.The other two characters on the scene are FBI agent Kyle Steele (Scott Speedman), who considers Stone a dangerous criminal, and Lola (Nona Gaye), a former flame (Ice Cube's) who owns a high-end car dealership.The movie's ending is a predictable no-brainer; and sadly, so is the entire movie.
It's certainly better than the first XXX,which although entertaining in parts was seriously weakened by some horrible dialogue {"think Playstation"}, an obsession with trying to better James Bond,and Vin Diesel,surely one of the most uncharismatic and simply bad stars around.The film does actually have a plot,yes it's unbelievable,and it may be hard to take the US President in the film trying to promote peace and greater understanding between the US and other nations {mmmmm},but the story does progress and is not just a chain to link the action together.Of course,if you want action,here it is in spades.
this film is totally s**t not just the first 40 minutes but the whole thing ice cube is a good actor and i like him in the Friday series and other films he has done but he is crap in this and they should not have gotten ridden of Vin diesel who would of thought it a African American xxx.
If you didn't see the original xXx don't worry, this movie does not continue from the first but performs on its own.I'll admit to being a bit skeptic of seeing Ice Cube in a role like this but he did a really good job.
I found this movie very entertaining and exciting.The action scenes were very good and original.The jokes were pretty funny.The story was very smart and original.People have been giving this movie very bad reviews (especially on this site) but although it is not the greatest movie ever, I think 1/10 is a little harsh.It isn't an awful, revolting movie and I wouldn't mind seeing it again.Overall I found it exciting and funny and you shouldn't get too angry if you don't like it because it is just a light action movie..
What worked: First off, Ice Cube makes this film(He's more bad ass than Diesel is)and he carries the action sequences really well, Samuel L.
It does not work on some many levels, the story is awful and so far fetched, the action sequences rely heavily on CGI, so much so by the end that it loses the appeal.If you like unbelievable stunts, story and ex cons from the hood that can shoot better the military then you might be able to find something to enjoy.I hear that xXx3 is in the making, when will these people learn, they take good actors (Samuel L Jackson, Willem Dafoe) and make them perform such a cheesy story.Maybe watch it once to see how bad it is but you will not be impressed and will want a refund for your time and money spent.
Everyone knows the tripple x was an extreme pile of excrement.The makers of xxx2 must of known this as well , so they don't really try to hard to top the original "film".And while they succeed in making xxx2 an improvement over the first one(which isn't hard to do really....), they only really give us more of the same ingredients - a gruff one liner spitting hero, loud action, wafer thin plot and loud music that drowns out every dialogue scene.Ice cube does the hero thing reasonably well, but thats only when he's angry or shooting stuff.When he's giving a unintentionally funny pro American speech or trying to infiltrate high society he just seems a bit wooden.Samuel l jackson who as we all know is a living legend , doesn't do much here except glare at people , shoots baddies and gives the film credibility by having his name on the poster.What the film does well is deliver wall to wall non stop action and the pace is fast that it never gets a chance to get boring.The explosions (which occur every ,like 8 minutes )are beautifully shot and look stunning.Its dumb and a tad disappointing, but you could do a lot worse when it comes to some disposable entertainment.
Line - Witty Retort; Action - Witty Retort; Tough question - tougher answer with wit; Whoops, good acting by Samuel L Jackson for a second; Ice Cube - Close up, tough guy stare and one-liner; explosion, guns, stunts, boats, "grand theft choppers", girls, surprising villain (not too surprising); anti-hero makes tough guys seem like pansy boys - witty retortI got a copy of the script and just wanted to share a little bit with y'all.
Second i thought ice cube was cool as XXX agent, i don't know why everybody is acting like he is an idiot he kicks ass.
and third i hope there will be a third installment so i can enjoy XXX over the top action "one more time".The acting is okay for this kind of movie, credible are Samuel, ice and Scott maybe William but he can do way better ( See PLatoon ).The Action was just too much but i like it a lot, so if you like the first one you will definitely like this one.The story was really simple but thats the way these movies have to go, no ingenious plots just simple to follow a movie to watch with some friends with a few drinks and some laughsFinal: for the peoples that haven't seen this one go check it out and have some funPeace.
Parts of the story are a little predictable, but the action scenes were good and some of Ice Cube's stone-faced one-liners had us howling.Ice Cube was, I think, a better actor in this role than the star of the original XXX (Vin Diesel) was.
I know others have criticized Ice Cube's acting, but I thought he did a credible job of playing the reluctant, royally ticked-off XXX character and keeping us laughing while we sat on the edge of our seats awaiting the outcome of the action sequences.Samuel L.
At least when Cube said a line it didn't sound like he was reading directly off the script Overall, a bad movie but better than the original..
very bad action movie....The producer didn't knew that Ice Cube act like a pussy?
Jackson is also good too and I didn't really see that much bad acting on the whole apart from Xzbitz, who was probably casted because hes a Big music name, no need as he really ain't good on screen and his character was pretty boring.Overall, the OTT action is unavoidable with the XXX Movies.
I know that they are going to be getting different agents for the XXX movies but I hope the think about just using Ice Cube for XXX.
How many times is this movie going to be made and remade?Ice Cube is the main character, and I've seen in him a lot of other projects, but I've never seen him act this bad.
XXx but this time it has a different main protagonist Ice Cube who plays Darius Stone an ex soldier in jail who is visited by gibbons and recruited he then has to escape prison and become the new xXx and save the world from an evil politician who want to rule the world.The action and cinematography are decent the music was a bit better than the first watch this if you liked the original it has lots of explosions guns and girls 6.5 out of 10 :D.