For all the talk of XXX and its bulging, Barry White-voiced star, Vin Diesel, ushering in a new era of espionage thriller, James Bond shouldn't worry about cashing in Her Majesty's 401(k) plan just yet. As Xander Cage, an adrenaline junkie anarchist who is recruited by an NSA specialist (Samuel L. Jackson, dutifully paying the bills) to serve his country as a secret agent, Diesel is undeniably charismatic. And while not given much chance to "act," Diesel is a competent enough line-reader - unlike, say, his Fast and the Furious co-star Paul Walker, whose performance in that film was so bad it made Keanu Reeves look like Sir Larry Olivier.
What keeps XXX from being anything close to a first-rate spy flick is that director Rob Cohen (also from The Fast and the Furious) has no clue how to structure a story that isn't just generic filler packed with copious explosions and impossible stunts. And excluding the second scene of the movie, where we are introduced to Cage as he steals a snobby Senator's red corvette, drives it off a bridge, then pulls his parachute at the last second -- all the while being videotaped from multiple angles -- not one of the film's numerous action sequences delivers a real rush. Cohen directs these scenes like a 10-year-old who has just been given a bundle of fireworks; rather than let each one off individually, building to a thundering crescendo, he just lights the whole bag on fire and hopes you are so desperately craving entertainment that you will be awed by the spectacle of it all, despite not really being able to see all the action unfold.
I have more to say about XXX, including a survey of what other critics are saying -- but alas, my flight awaits. I'll be sans computer all weekend so look for my next post Monday morning.
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