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XXX (Superbit Collection) Customer Reviews (73 - 75 of 79 Reviews)

Vin Diesel is the Steven Segal for today's Xtreme generation
Harvard grad Rob Cohen has directed his best cinematic experience since 1987's "Hooperman", but Vin Diesel is certainly no John Ritter!
Wow, where did these writers come up with a "hip" and "cutting edge" title like "XXX"? Get it? I bet that some dumb teenagers think that because the film is named "XXX" that it contains adult content and they will get a thrill seeing this movie. Vin Diesel and his character, Xander Cage, battle bad guys, get beautiful women, blow things up, and say catchy phrases that all my buddies emulate. With a cool, totally original name like "Xander" (get it? It's a play on the word "Xtreme" one of the hippest words out there), our guy Vin walks to his own beat, without the advice of Hollywood marketing types. He also has tatoos, which are all about being a loner, and with a name like Diesel, I bet his entire family is really mad cool.
This DVD will hopefully tie me over until XXX2 is released in 2004.

"So how long have you been a secret agent?" "Two days."
In 2002, Rob Cohen directed the action/adventure/thriller "XXX" starring Vin Diesel as the heavily tattooed, extreme sports enthusiast Xander Cage, who is recruited to become America's secret agent dubbed 'XXX' by Agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson). Agent Gibbons recruits Xander because no regularly trained agent has successfully managed to penetrate a group of Russian expatriates living in Praque, Czech Republic that call themselves "Anarchy-99" and may have access to Russian biological weapons. Having very little respect for authority and living in a subculture of extreme sports enthusiasts and anarchists, Xander appears to have all the necessary qualifications to penetrate "Anarchy-99". "Anarchy-99" is headed by the former Russian soldier Yorgi (Marton Csokas), who has a seemingly emotionless Russian woman, Yelena (Asia Argento), working for him.

With practically non-stop action in almost every scene and a dash of heavy metal music, "XXX" is an entertaining film, though its videogame-style plot is predictable. Vin Diesel does come across as the smug, anarchist-turned-hero secret agent, but Marton Csokas is not convincing in his arch-villain role, nor is Asia Argento very good in her role. Unlike the James Bond films of the 1960's through the 1980's that tend to emphasize suspense over pure action, Rob Cohen and writer Rich Wilkes focused most of the film's 124 minutes on action sequences edited together with little character development in between. Some of the most memorable action sequences include the bridge, the trip to Columbia and the avalanche. The final action sequence was less realistic. Similarities with James Bond films include Rich Wilkes' answer to the popular James Bond character "Q" (usually played by Desmond Llewelyn, 1914-1999) with his own in the form of Agent Toby Lee Shavers (Michael Roof). The closing scene with Agent Gibbons trying to get a hold of the preoccupied Xander was very reminiscent of most James Bond films. The film's soundtrack includes such heavy metal songs as "Feuer Frei" by "Rammstein" (which appeared in the film's opening sequence), "Bodies" by "Drowning Pool" and "I Will Be Heard" by "Hatebreed". Other groups' songs that were included in the soundtrack include "N.E.R.D.", "Queens of the Stone Age" and "Moby".

Overall, I rate "XXX" with 3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars. The film will probably be more entertaining with younger viewers than older viewers, but if you enjoy action films with a lot of action and little plot, you'll probably enjoy "XXX" a lot.

The Next Big Thing¿
Many have claimed that Vin Diesel (along with The Rock) may very well be the next big action stars in the vein of Arnold and Stallone. Diesel's latest entry, "XXX" may very well prove all doubters that he is in fact, The Next Big Thing.

THE STORY:

Xander Cage is a non-law abiding citizen, an extreme athlete/punk, who gets chosen by Uncle Sam as one of the next generation of secret agents. An unlikely hero, Cage gets sent off to the Czech Republic in pursuit of a group of former Soviet anarchists and winds up sampling the fine Eastern European big-money party life while raising Cain in between.

THE COOL STUFF:

Well my friends, if you love action, this has got action!!! Cohen and Diesel kick it up a notch outdo themselves VERY much from the "Fast and the Furious." Bond, Stallone, Arnold, Chan, Li, Cruise, Vam Damme, Segall or anyone else for that matter has nothing on Diesel in this one. The cool gadgets and the awesome action scenes will please just about anyone watching this.

The coolest thing about "XXX" that does separate this movie from others in the action genre is the use of all the "Extreme Sports" mainstays (motorcross, snowboarding, hot cars) in the filming of all the action/fight scenes.

The stunts and the cinematography of them are simply amazing and breathtaking. Cohen's filming really does put the XXX in XXXTreme. Awesome stuff!!!

THE BEST STUFF:

1. The snowboarding scene

2. The motorcross scene

3. The tons of cool "spy gadgets."

THE COMMENTARY:

Admittedly, if you are watching this for superb acting performance, etc, you really are watching the wrong movie/watching this movie for the wrong reasons. Sure, some of the plot was not that easy to follow and may have been a little confusing. Sure, Diesel will probably not be the next Tom Hanks or Mel Gibson which is alright because that's probably not his talent. A XXX franchise will probably NOT be the nail in the coffin of James Bond. However, the quality of the action in this flick and the pure adrenaline rush it exudes will help experts' claims that Diesel might be the next Arnold or Sly become all that more true.

THE VERDICT:

Again, this is just a great movie if you are looking for your action fix. I'll put the action right up there with anything Arnold or Sly's ever done plus a few bonus points for all the cool usage of the XXXtreme sports stuff. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!!!

Highly Recommended

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