“XXX” (Columbia Pictures)
Vin Diesel is being touted as the “James Bond for a new millennium." In the new film “XXX” he is the new breed of undercover agent and he is not a member of her majesty’s secret service. This guy is a street tough punk who lives by his wits, and plays for keeps. With action, adventure and attitude “XXX” is a rock em sock em movie.
Diesel plays Xander Cage, a guy who loves to live life on the edge. He risks his life on a whim and takes part in petty crimes with out a look back. These petty crimes end up getting the attention of a secret agent (Samuel L Jackson) who blackmails XXX (as he is called) into doing some government work.
Cage is sent to Prague to investigate a group known as “Anarchy 99”. The leader (Martin Csokas) takes a liking to X and makes him part of his group. X also forms a close association with Yelena (Asia Argento) who is another member of this group.
“Anarchy 99” has a plot to unleash a deadly gas and set it lose in Hamburg, killing the entire population. From there they plan to conquer the world. And it is up to Xander to stop them.
The action is virtually non-stop in the movie and Diesel does a good job of making the physical stunts believable. It is just that acting stuff that gets in the way. Diesel played supporting roles in “Saving Private Ryan,” “Boiler Room,” and “The Fast and the Furious.” He was okay because he didn’t have the entire movie on his shoulders. In this movie he is the STAR and he just can’t handle it. He comes off as a muscle bound toughie who doesn’t have the wit or charm of an Arnold or a Sly.
The movie is rated PG-13 for violence and profanity.
Diesel gets very little help from his supporting cast. Jackson is ham-strung by a lousy makeup job that makes him look like he fell into a chocolate vat and got burned jello attached to his cheek. Argento has no spark with Diesel and she is supposed to be the love interest. Only Csokas comes close to giving acting validity to the film with an evil presence and a look that is reminiscent of Russell Crow.
“XXX” has all the right moves as far as action is concerned, but the lumpiness of Diesel makes it just a so-so adventure flick. Pierce Brosnan has nothing to worry about from this franchise.
I scored “XXX” a why, why, why 5 out of 10.
©2003 Jackie K. Cooper
