Netflix A-Z: xXx (2002)

I cannot believe that Vin Diesel is back for the next xXx movie in 2017. I just can’t. To be fully transparent, I have seen this movie before and its not a new discovery but the other choice was the sequel and I figured, if I was going to do this then I might as well look at the first one again and I don’t really remember much other than Vin Diesel’s furry coat.  The second one is going to be reviewed in the next week or so. We’re nearing the end of the Netflix A-Z and I’m working hard to finish up this second round, take a little break to reassess the schedule and set the next one which might have a little twist to it.  Regardless, I love xXx and Vin Diesel and its an interesting discovery that I watched a lot of his movies around the time this one was released and that this was after The Fast and the Furious and you all know how much I love that franchise to death! 🙂

Let’s check it out!

xXx (2002)

Director: Rob Cohen

Cast: Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Roof, Richy Muller, Werner Daehn

An extreme sports athlete, Xander Cage, is recruited by the government on a special mission.-IMDB

xXx is a action spy thriller.  Its weird to say that Vin Diesel is in a “thriller”.  Its not that I don’t love Vin Diesel because I do however he does have a style to him and a sort of movie that he sticks a lot to and those films don’t normally align with how I describe a thriller. However, xXx is a thriller because Vin Diesel plays as Xander Cage and he is sent in to spy on a mob in Czech Republic and gather some intel.  However, he does get caught up in more than he should. xXx is definitely not a movie you should nitpick mostly because if you look too closely, there are a thousand plotholes all over it but it doesn’t stop the fact that its a downright fun movie to watch.  Except you also know what to expect with something like this or maybe its just because watching it ten plus years later, we know what to expect more and it is also this reason I feel like I enjoyed this movie more now than when I first saw it when it first came out.

 xXx is a super fun movie because of Xander Cage. I mean, Vin Diesel captures these sort of roles in a fantastic way. It adds a bit of humor with his expressions and one liners.  There’s a bit of bantering with Samuel L. Jackson, who is also a plus in this movie even if his role isn’t that big.  Then, there’s his absolute manliness that I love to talk about with all his extreme stunts and all the crazy stuff he plays regardless of how absurd it is.  After the whole Fast and Furious franchise, these stunts are kind of not a big deal.  However, he does still get to drive some hot cars and show off.  Still, Xander Cage reflects a lot of some outstanding qualities and just his braveness to enter and deal with any situation makes it entertaining. Most of the cast here isn’t quite known to me even after so many years and they all don’t do such a great job in their roles, maybe a slight bit of overacting, but when they are working in that same scene as Vin Diesel, it brings a different vibe, a much more enjoyable one.

If you asked me what I didn’t like about xXx, I really wouldn’t be able to pinpoint it  I think even in its overacting bits and a rather apparent and predictable storyline offering nothing new to the table, its still not enough for me to say that I didn’t have fun with it.  Vin Diesel is the best part but Samuel L. Jackson also boosts up the movie a little.  Asia Argento plays as the female lead and she’s alright even if I’m not a huge fan of her acting.  Its a very generic lady role she has in this. The villain and his crew was hilarious mostly because they had such horrible acting and tried so hard to be the bad guy and their expressions just made want to laugh at them. Maybe that is a bad thing but there are some cases, it is just pure fun because maybe that is what they were aiming to do.

Overall, I’m starting to grasp at nothing now. xXx isn’t a movie to dive too deep in thinking about.  I like it because of Vin Diesel and the character Xander Cage.  Its kind of like liking Dominic Toretto in Fast and Furious franchise. Xander Cage, while being against the government, still has a lot of valuable traits.  Plus, Vin Diesel being in a spy thriller is aiming to do something different here. Maybe inject it with more action and stunts and not be so serious all the time like thrillers usually are.  I don’t think they quite hit that target.  The story was rather generic but it was still a fun time.

On an ending note, it is what makes me hesitate to see the second one because there’s not Vin Diesel.  At least there’s Scott Speedman, right? 😉

Have you seen xXx? 

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