Rating: 
Summary: Best of the summer blockbusters, to date.
Review: XXX (Rob Cohen, 2002)Here's a surprise: Rob Cohen, whose The Fast and the Furious was not only one of the biggest surprise hits of 2001 but also by far the biggest of Cohen's career, teams up again with Vin Diesel. The major lineup change here is the addition of screenwriter Rich Wilkes. Anyone familiar with the name should be ready to crawl under their seats right about now; Wilkes has been responsible in the past for such deathless cinematic fare as The Jerky Boys and The Stoned Age. Whatever Cohen did to Wilkes, though, he did it right. XXX is absolutely typical run-of-the-mill shut-your-brain-off spy movie fare, so cut from the cloth of James Bond that the opening scene of the film features a nameless tuxedoed secret agent getting shot in the middle of a Rammstein concert. Cohen and Diesel threw down the gauntlet from the get-go to Albert Broccoli and Co. (and if the trailers for the new Bond film are anything to go by, "Bond"'s death at the beginning of this film is most welcome. Actually, it probably should have come after A View to a Kill. But let's not be petty.) XXX goes right into the wonderful world of Bond starting soon after, including a scientist/weapons geek (relative newcomer Michael Roof, last seen in Black Hawk Down), a number of fabulous one-liners, and the most beautiful women in Hollywood falling at his feet, in this case Asia Argento. (Asia fans take note: you won't see nearly as much of her, in any respect, as you did in b.Monkey. Grieve now.) So what is it about XXX that makes it the best of the big-budget summer films? The movie does exactly what it promises. You go into XXX looking for a mindless action movie, and you get a mindless action movie. Diesel is one of Hollywood's hottest properties right now, Cohen is finally hitting his stride after two decades of failed attempts to be deep and meaningful, Wilkes wrote a script that actually contains some humor, and the three of them will be back together again for the sequel in 2004. Eighteen films from now, hopefully, someone will shoot Xander Cage in the middle of a Rammstein concert, and there will be a new superspy. Until then, sit back and enjoy the ride. *** ½
Rating: 
Summary: The Next Big Thing¿
Review: Many have claimed that Vin Diesel (along with The Rock) may very well be the next big action stars in the vein of Arnold and Stallone. Diesel's latest entry, "XXX" may very well prove all doubters that he is in fact, The Next Big Thing. THE STORY: Xander Cage is a non-law abiding citizen, an extreme athlete/punk, who gets chosen by Uncle Sam as one of the next generation of secret agents. An unlikely hero, Cage gets sent off to the Czech Republic in pursuit of a group of former Soviet anarchists and winds up sampling the fine Eastern European big-money party life while raising Cain in between. THE COOL STUFF: Well my friends, if you love action, this has got action!!! Cohen and Diesel kick it up a notch outdo themselves VERY much from the "Fast and the Furious." Bond, Stallone, Arnold, Chan, Li, Cruise, Vam Damme, Segall or anyone else for that matter has nothing on Diesel in this one. The cool gadgets and the awesome action scenes will please just about anyone watching this. The coolest thing about "XXX" that does separate this movie from others in the action genre is the use of all the "Extreme Sports" mainstays (motorcross, snowboarding, hot cars) in the filming of all the action/fight scenes. The stunts and the cinematography of them are simply amazing and breathtaking. Cohen's filming really does put the XXX in XXXTreme. Awesome stuff!!! THE BEST STUFF: 1.The snowboarding scene 2.The motorcross scene 3.The tons of cool "spy gadgets." THE COMMENTARY: Admittedly, if you are watching this for superb acting performance, etc, you really are watching the wrong movie/watching this movie for the wrong reasons. Sure, some of the plot was not that easy to follow and may have been a little confusing. Sure, Diesel will probably not be the next Tom Hanks or Mel Gibson which is alright because that's probably not his talent. A XXX franchise will probably NOT be the nail in the coffin of James Bond. However, the quality of the action in this flick and the pure adrenaline rush it exudes will help experts' claims that Diesel might be the next Arnold or Sly become all that more true. THE VERDICT: Again, this is just a great movie if you are looking for your action fix. I'll put the action right up there with anything Arnold or Sly's ever done plus a few bonus points for all the cool usage of the XXXtreme sports stuff. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!!! Highly Recommended
Rating: 
Summary: worth buying if found at a pawn shop or something
Review: xxx-i went into this film hoping vin would prove he is a great actor, which he did not do. at best he showed that he is ok, it's mainly his body that gets him these rolls. don't get me wrong i think he's great in some others, pitch black and knockaround guys. in those he handled co-starring rolls, so maybe he should stick to those. but none the less he does an alright job on this. vin also turned out to be one of the executive producers for this film.
for this film vin returned with two former co workers of his, fast and furious producer neal h. moritz, and fast and furious director rob cohen. with the long list of excutives you know neal had a fun time. i think he did a very good job as usaul, also ob did a good job with what he had.
the story follows xander cage a xtreame video maker going from outlaw to government agent. it's your tipical action, things blowing up film. it has nice prefomances aswell from asia arento, marton csokas, and samual l. jackson. also it features a surprise guest with eve as vin's manager.
Rating:
Summary: "So how long have you been a secret agent?" "Two days."
Review: In 2002, Rob Cohen directed the action/adventure/thriller "XXX" starring Vin Diesel as the heavily tattooed, extreme sports enthusiast Xander Cage, who is recruited to become America's secret agent dubbed 'XXX' by Agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson). Agent Gibbons recruits Xander because no regularly trained agent has successfully managed to penetrate a group of Russian expatriates living in Praque, Czech Republic that call themselves "Anarchy-99" and may have access to Russian biological weapons. Having very little respect for authority and living in a subculture of extreme sports enthusiasts and anarchists, Xander appears to have all the necessary qualifications to penetrate "Anarchy-99". "Anarchy-99" is headed by the former Russian soldier Yorgi (Marton Csokas), who has a seemingly emotionless Russian woman, Yelena (Asia Argento), working for him. With practically non-stop action in almost every scene and a dash of heavy metal music, "XXX" is an entertaining film, though its videogame-style plot is predictable. Vin Diesel does come across as the smug, anarchist-turned-hero secret agent, but Marton Csokas is not convincing in his arch-villain role, nor is Asia Argento very good in her role. Unlike the James Bond films of the 1960's through the 1980's that tend to emphasize suspense over pure action, Rob Cohen and writer Rich Wilkes focused most of the film's 124 minutes on action sequences edited together with little character development in between. Some of the most memorable action sequences include the bridge, the trip to Columbia and the avalanche. The final action sequence was less realistic. Similarities with James Bond films include Rich Wilkes' answer to the popular James Bond character "Q" (usually played by Desmond Llewelyn, 1914-1999) with his own in the form of Agent Toby Lee Shavers (Michael Roof). The closing scene with Agent Gibbons trying to get a hold of the preoccupied Xander was very reminiscent of most James Bond films. The film's soundtrack includes such heavy metal songs as "Feuer Frei" by "Rammstein" (which appeared in the film's opening sequence), "Bodies" by "Drowning Pool" and "I Will Be Heard" by "Hatebreed". Other groups' songs that were included in the soundtrack include "N.E.R.D.", "Queens of the Stone Age" and "Moby". Overall, I rate "XXX" with 3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars. The film will probably be more entertaining with younger viewers than older viewers, but if you enjoy action films with a lot of action and little plot, you'll probably enjoy "XXX" a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Bond For The Next Generation
Review: Director Rob Cohen, who also helmed The Fast And The Furious, decided that superspy James Bond, needed some competition at the box office. Thus, the XXX film franchise, was born. Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) was just your average extreme sports guy. He was living his life the way he wanted by his rules. Risking it all--just for fun. After completing his latest stunt, he is noticed by the folks at the National Security Agency, who want Xander to help out with an assignment. He is contacted by NSA official, Agent Augustus Gibbons, (Samuel L. Jackson) and reluctantly agrees to help his country. It seems that a renagade terrorist (Marton Csokas) wants to wipe out the entire population of Prague, using a biological weapon, attached to remote controlled missle. As with every spy film, there's also a lovely lady invoved, Asia Argento fills that slot as Yelena, a fellow undercover agent. I enjoyed Diesel in his other action roles, so, I was reved up to see this film. Unfortunately, the filmmaker's decided to rely too much on many "Bondisms", to tell the story. The only differences here are that Xander isn't British and that he has to be convinced to help. I also had a problem with the way XXX seemed to jump right into it. I would have thought there would have been a few more closer calls for Xander. After all he is supposed to be a novice right. He seemed to fit into the spy game a little too well for his first time. Having said that, there's no denying the fact that, some of the film's stunts are pretty cool...Cohen knows how to stage these set pieces in spectacular fashion. Despite too many Bond similarities for its plot, the Special Edition DVD, boasts some solid extras. The Director's Commentary from Cohen is quite good. His enthusiasm is welcomed as is the info about the film's production that he discloses. Five featurettes take you even further inside the movie A Filmmaker's Diary gives you a look at what it was like on the set on. The "Diesel Powered" featurette takes a "fluffy" look at the actor. As far as I'm concerned the most interesting featurettes are those that deal with the look of the film,"Building Speed: The Vehicles of XXX" and "Designing The World of XXX".The deleted scenes are not all that great and were well chosen to be edited from the film. You can also watch them with optional director's commentary, if you want. Storyboard comparisons, multi-angle deconstructions, visual effects secrets, the music video for Gavin Rossdale's "Adrenaline", from the soundtrack, top off the main extras. But for those with a DVD-ROM drive on their PC, there are additional extras to look for as well, like the film's script. I may have had problems with XXX, but overall, the entire DVD package is STILL worth a look
Rating:
Summary: Perfectly respectable spy movie
Review: When I saw this movie I couldn't help but compare it to James Bond movies. Since Bond has pretty much set the stage for all spy movies, I wondered how this movie would stack up. Overall, I was impressed; Vin Diesel may be the secret agent for people ages 15-30 or so. The movie has all the necessary things you'd come to expect from a spy film: at least one special agent, at least one beautiful chick, fast cars, explosions, lots of gadgets, and a villan bent on taking over the world. While these things are pretty much standard issue in the spy film genre, they also weaken the movie a little. The action sequences are really what keeps the movie going. Xander Cage (Diesel) fits the role of an extreme sports athlete, and the opening sequence really sets the stage for the things he's willing to do. Everything is a trick to him, from the opening scene involving someone else's car and a bridge, to jumping out of an airplane and snowboarding down in front of an avalanche. These tricks move the storyline along better than dialog would do. Cage is an action man, not a man of words. The plot of the movie is what makes me give the movie 4 stars. It's one of your typical spy movie plots. In this case the special agent isn't smooth and refined, instead of ordering martinis and talking about intellectual things, he drinks cranberry juice and tells people to "stop thinking cop, start thinking Playstation and blow stuff up." He shoots people with tranquilizer darts instead of bullets. However, this is the primary difference between this spy movie and most spy movie. There's still the beautiful woman caught up in all the trouble who falls for the agent, lots of nifty gadgets, and the evil villain. In this case the evil villain is a defector of the Russian army who heads a group that wants world anarchy. Overall, the movie is good, it's a nice change from the suave suit and tie agent we're accustomed to. While the idea of an unlikely secret agent isn't new, people ages 15-30 can relate better to a guy with tattoos who hangs out with professional skaters and goes to clubs better than they can relate to a man who goes everywhere in a suit, drinks vodka martinis and seduces women without a second thought. I really shouldn't compare this movie to the Bond ones, it stands on it's own as a respectable spy movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Vin Diesel is the Steven Segal for today's Xtreme generation
Review: Harvard grad Rob Cohen has directed his best cinematic experience since 1987's "Hooperman", but Vin Diesel is certainly no John Ritter!
Wow, where did these writers come up with a "hip" and "cutting edge" title like "XXX"? Get it? I bet that some dumb teenagers think that because the film is named "XXX" that it contains adult content and they will get a thrill seeing this movie. Vin Diesel and his character, Xander Cage, battle bad guys, get beautiful women, blow things up, and say catchy phrases that all my buddies emulate. With a cool, totally original name like "Xander" (get it? It's a play on the word "Xtreme" one of the hippest words out there), our guy Vin walks to his own beat, without the advice of Hollywood marketing types. He also has tatoos, which are all about being a loner, and with a name like Diesel, I bet his entire family is really mad cool.
This DVD will hopefully tie me over until XXX2 is released in 2004.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Terminator 3
Review: Triple X is much better than the last couple of Arnold action movies (End of Days, Collateral Damage). And now that Arnold and Sylvester Stalone are old geezers, Vin Diesel is a suitable replacement. This is also much better than the 1990's James Bond movies. My opinion is that those 1990's versions were too BOREING and PRETENTIOUS. Triple X has a lot of great action screens for the modern audience.
Rating:
Summary: Exactly What You'd Expect
Review: All style, no substance. All brawn, no brains. Great stunts, Lame acting. Great concept, pitiful followthrough. This movie is hugely entertaining and, I suspect, exactly the movie it's trying to be. Vin Diesel (not his real name FYI) is a credible action flick star but he's gotta start finding better scripts if he expects to last. The Rock has already staked a claim and Vin needs to get with the program if he expects to compete. Not much to say about this flick but it did turn me on to Rammstein, if nothing else.
Rating: 
Summary: Can't get any worse
Review: What can you say about a movie with a story that's even worse than Vin Diesel who wants to make us believe he can actually act. "NO BRAIN, NO PAIN". Don't waste your money on this piece of crap. Moviemaking at its all time lowest. 1 star because unfortunately 0 is not an option.
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