xXx series

  • xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)

    xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Netflix Streaming, August 2018) Sometimes, you don’t fully appreciate what you’ve got until it goes away, and that’s a bit how I feel about xXx: Return of Xander Cage considering that it’s a blatant throwback to the kind of silly overblown action movie that they were making in the early 2000s with the original xXx and xXx: State of the Union. Those movies kind of went away while we weren’t looking, replaced by grittier, meaner, shakier but not necessarily better Bourne knockoffs. And now here are Vin Diesel and xXx: Return of Xander Cage, unapologetically renewing with the style and content of the first two films. Our xXx hero, as it turns out, never died despite misinformed reports to the contrary: He just travelled around the world and stands ready to be reluctantly recruited once more when hacky-wacky mumbo-jumbo stuff needs fixing once again. However, this time he gets to team up with slightly-less grandiose archetypes in order to fight for freedom and all that good stuff. So it is that we don’t just get Vin Diesel, but the always-watchable Ruby Rose as a sharpshooter, action sensation Tony Jaa, Nina Dobrev in a very cute nerdy-girl role, Toni Colette and Samuel L. Jackson walking on and off the screen to make sure the plot mechanics are set up properly, and none other than Ice Cube back in a return engagement through an absolutely classic introduction featuring his own music. If you’ve read this far without realizing that xXx: Return of Xander Cage is not a great movie, I question your attentiveness. It is, however, an increasingly enjoyable film especially if you saw its predecessors. Diesel and Cube both try to out-surly each other, while the supporting cast knows that they’re not going for subtlety. The action sequences are just fine thanks to director D. J. Caruso’s competency with the form. (It had been a while since he helmed good genre movies; it’s good to have him back.) Of course, the conscious decision to ape the original film’s methods means that xXx: Return of Xander Cage does feel like a throwback to 10–15 years ago. But there’s no school like the old school, and as a fan of that particular era of action filmmaking, I truly had unexpected fun watching it all happen again. I’m not necessarily demanding another sequel, but I’d be good with it.

  • xXx: State of the Union (2005)

    xXx: State of the Union (2005)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Netflix Streaming, February 2016) I remember that xXx: State of the Union got terrible reviews upon release, but watching the film lately is enough to make anyone wonder why the reviewers were so vexed. Of course, time has been kind to lead actor Ice Cube, who seems even more iconic today thanks to his anointment in Straight Outta Compton: Part of State of the Union’s charm comes from seeing his gruff demeanour clashing with the usual nonsense of a typical dumb action movie. It’s worth highlighting that Ice Cube has personality and the film distinguishes itself (even a decade later) by featuring it as best it can. There is some daring in State of the Union’s premise of a coup building against the US government, and a sprinkling of action sequences (especially a purely nonsensical but fast-paced bullet-train sequence at the climax of the film) are enough to keep things interesting to the end. Under Lee Tamahori’s direction, State of the Union is not a film that takes itself seriously, and so becomes one of those movies in which absurdities act as features rather than problems. It’s easy to feel some odd affection for it, especially if you’re already an Ice Cube fan and find much postmodern fun in contemplating an NWA founding member saving the US government from rogue elements.

  • xXx (2002)

    xXx (2002)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In theaters, August 2002) I like Vin Diesel. I think he’s one of the most credible “action heroes” to pop up since the Fall of Schwarzenegger. XXX is nothing but a star vehicle for him, and as such it works very well: The script is copied from a rejected James Bond outline, the dialogues are pedestrian and the direction can be underwhelming at times, but Diesel carries the whole film on his shoulders with impressive ease. Say whatever you want about his range (or perceived lack thereof), but you can’t stop watching him whenever he’s on screen and that, friends, is old-fashioned star power. Remove Diesel and replace him with any of the “action wimps” of the past few years (calling Matt Damon… Ben Affleck… Josh Hartnett…) and suddenly the film becomes far less interesting. Oh, I’m not saying it’s a great film even with Diesel; for all its self-serving rhetoric about being better/more current/more extreme than the Bond series, “Triple-X” Xander Cage is just another copy of Bond, down to the cute chicks, nerdish technical assistant and big stunts. (Actually, the stunts are very impressive, even when they’re digitally enhanced) The techno-rap soundtrack basically defines its public and attitude; you can simply hear the film and decide if it’s going to be for you. It’s fun summer fare, not very ambitious nor too serious about it. I liked it, but I recognize the wide variety of reactions that this movie will elicit.

    (Second viewing, On DVD, February 2003) Vin Diesel is a James Bond for teenage boys in this bad-boy story that’s nevertheless more inoffensive than most PG-13 action thrillers. The macho extreme-sport posturing is amusing to watch, but not nearly as amusing as hearing director Rob Cohen try to mythologize this very average action film in his commentary track. But let’s be fair; Cohen is one of the only directors able to sustain a fill-length commentary by himself, and he is genuinely amusing throughout. The film doesn’t gain much at a second glance: The plot, dialogues and villains are still pedestrian. Only Vin Diesel can make this stuff work despite all odds… the true definition of a movie star. The “special edition” DVD contains a few making-of supplements; the “filmmaker’s diary” is interesting, but the others are very fluffy, including -I kid you not- a five-minute ad for the upcoming GTO car. There is a noticeable lack of information about the visual effects, probably because a lot of it involved replacing stuntmen’s faces with Vin Diesel’s own. But you’ll have to read Cinefex in order to learn about it, because nothing can come between Diesel and his mystique…