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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
XXX
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 out of 4
| *Also starring: | Asia Argento, Evelyn Ankers, Martin Csokas |
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Review by Susan Granger
3 stars out of 4
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If you like your movies loud and fast, this is the ultimate blast. Vin Diesel
headlines the testosterone-drenched thrill ride which is deliberately calculated
to capitalize on the brawny "Fast and Furious" image that made him Hollywood's
first multi-racial action hero. The story is simple: a spy for the National
Security Agency, Samuel L. Jackson, recruits a buff, tattooed, fearless
extreme-sports athlete named Xander "XXX" Cage to become a secret agent and
avert the global catastrophe, dubbed "Silent Night," that's been planned in
Prague by a brutal ex-Russian Army anarchist named Yorgi (New Zealand actor
Marton Csokas) and his nihilist mistress, Yelena (Asia Argento), a sexy Russian
spy. Xander gains Yorgi's confidence by feigning interest in a fleet of hot
muscle cars for American clients and infiltrates his organization. So where's
the CIA amidst all this international skullduggery? But the plot's not
important - it's the bone-crunching, daredevil stunts, superbly photographed by
Dean Semler, that are awesome: hurtling a Corvette over a bridge and parachuting
to safety, snowboarding down a mountain ahead of an avalanche, jumping a
motorcycle through barbed wire, punctuated by blaring Euro/Pop/Goth music. Plus
the 007-inspired gadgetry! Director Rob Cohen ("The Fast and the Furious") is
familiar with Vin Diesel's rugged, rebellious appeal and emphasizes it
throughout Rich Wilkes' monosyllabic, gung-ho screenplay that was written for
the gruff actor who calls his biceps the Kryptonics, naming them after the
biggest top-of-the-line skateboard wheels. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to
10, "XXX" is an adrenaline-propelled, x-plosive 7. Don't underestimate the cool
charisma of this dude Diesel, who's reinvented a grungy, dumbed-down James Bond
for a new generation.
Copyright © 2002 Susan Granger
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