:: Venting Insanity ::

:: Monday, July 28, 2003 ::

movie review
Last night, I saw xXx (Triple X) over at my friend John's house. Vin Diesel (A Man Apart, The Fast and the Furious, Saving Private Ryan) stars as Xander, otherwise known as "X" to his friends. Xander is into X-treme sports and has made a career of motorcross, any type of boarding, motorcycle racing, various skydiving stunts, and a variety of other things. After pulling a risky stunt that involved stealing a Senator's Corvette and jumping it off a bridge to film a point ("Don't be a dick, Dick."), X gets recruited by the CIA for a special operation in Europe. Well, more like drafted, since the Corvette stunt could cause him some serious trouble, and Agent Gibbons, played by Samuel L. Jackson (Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Unbreakable, Star Wars Prequels), promises to wipe his record clean once the mission's over.

A group called Anarchy '99 is known for various anti-government stunts and for the general chaos and mayhem they cause. The CIA has become involved due to a rumor of a plot for mass destruction world-wide. They send X to the Czech Republic to infiltrate the group. His look, TV/sports fame, and general public record of being a troublemaker makes it easy for him to blend. It was the main reason the CIA sought him out in the first place. Regular agents just weren't cutting it. He goes in and starts gather intelligence, reporting back everything he finds. An annonymous tip to the leader blows his cover, and Xander finds himself under orders to return to the U.S. and end the mission. Knowing what's going to happen if Anarchy '99 isn't stopped, Xander blows off his orders and attempts to stop their plans himself. Not to mention save the pretty Russian agent, Yelena (Asia Argento), who wins his heart.

The movie is mainly the stunts and the equipment. Big guns, big rockets, flashy cars and motorcycles, all are integrated with a serious of adrenaline pumping stunts. The storyline provides a current story, dealing with terrorists and mass destruction plots, laced with some light humor and quippy one-liners. While it's not overly funny (being more of an action flick), this movie knows where it stands in various genres of film making. Vin Diesel isn't an overly amazing actor, but the flashy scenes cover it well, giving the audience plenty of eye candy to tide them over. The only other major actor I recognized was Samuel L. Jackson, who played the agent X reports to. Asia Argento has done work mostly in Europe.

The ending says, 'sequel', but doesn't blast it in your face the way some more recent movies have done. It left it open nicely, but without any hanging ends. There is a xXx 2 (also known as xXx²) being filmed at the moment (due for release in 2005), according to the IMDb, and I'm not overly surprised by that fact. So far, the three major actors have returned to recreate their roles.