Review: xXx is Better Than it Has Any Right to Be.
- Jan 18, 2017
- 2 min read
xXx really is in a league of its own. From Ron Cohen, the mind behind The Fast and The Furious, once again teaming up with Vin Diesel, it’s loud, incredibly stupid and appeals to very specific group of people, males aged 13 - 25. Rock music, daredevil stunts and macho men, it’s an Arnold Schwarzenegger film made long after it should have been.
Xander Cage (Diesel), an adrenaline junkie and all around badass, is recruited by the NSA,not the CIA, FBI or some fictional task force but the NSA, to infiltrate a Russian crime ring, known only as Anarchy 99, and prevent the use of a chemical weapon. It may not seem like the deepest plot, and that’s because it’s not.
The action is about as varied as the plot, mostly featuring extreme sports such as base jumping and motorbike jumps, it puts the X in Xtreme. Xander Cage takes out a man in mid-air while riding a dirtbike. He beats up Danny Trejo. He drops one liners like it’s nobodies business. Between starting and outrunning an avalanche to pursuing a submarine, it’s more than a little ridiculous.
As for the acting, Vin Diesel is Vin Diesel, Samuel L Jackson, the head of the operation, is Samuel L Jackson and everyone else is so over the top it becomes stupid. Good stupid. An enthusiasm runs through every part of the film, from the x-ray binoculars to the explosive bandages that can vaporise a human being, the movies packed with goofy stuff and just about everyone is enjoying it. And it’s infectious.
xXx is by no means a good movie, not even close. But, maybe it’s because I fit the demographic or maybe it’s because of the infectious nature of the films stupidity but I found myself enjoying it no end. Welcome to the Xander-zone, you’ll have fun.
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