XXX

Starring:	Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas
Directed By:	Rob Cohen
MPAA rating:	'PG-13' for violence, non-stop action sequences, sensuality, drug content and language.
Running Time:	124 minutes

XXX appears fairly easy to peg: it the next generation of Bond films. Does this mean gadgets? You bet it does. Does this mean loads of action? More than you can possibly imagine. Does this mean loads of ladies? Well, here's where things start to differ, and they don't stop at this.

In fact the film opens with a scene showing that the traditional spy in a tux just isn't cut out to do what needs to be done, which is infiltrate a secret Russian terrorist organization known as Anarchy 99. As a result of continual failure by traditional NSA agents, Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) designs a new plan: stop using regular agents. Instead, take hardened convicts and let their natural tendencies get them through the missions. The one they pick, the "best and brightest of the bottom of the barrel" as Gibbons puts it, is Xander Cage (Vin Diesel).

This role should be a shoe in for Diesel. See, Vin's got a shtick, and that shtick is playing the dark and often conflicted protagonist. He's played murderers turned heroes, and criminals who double as guardians and father figures, and through it all he's carried these roles with charisma powerful enough to make you want more from these characters. If ever they begin to slip back to what they were clearly established as initially, it's easy to feel disappointment. You want more from them because Mr. Diesel's performance makes you like them, almost irregardless of who these characters are.

So Xander Cage should be right in line with everything else, right? Funny enough, though Augustus initially talks of criminals with violent and despicable records, Cage can't be grouped into that category. See, Xander's a criminal, but he's a politically minded criminal. All of his crimes target those who espouse views he finds intolerable, and they don't involve hurting anyone physically, such as when he steals an ultra-conservative senator's car and runs it off a bridge. Sure, he's a bad guy, and he's even a criminal, but he's actually less dark in this film than in most other's he's starred in. Unlike Dominic of The Fast and the Furious or Riddick of Pitch Black, this is a man who commits crimes that are more understandable, even acceptable. I mean, let's face it, we've all wanted to stick it to the man in some way or another sometime in our lives. That's what Xander does.

And this lack of darkness continues through the movie. Xander is anti-authority, and he continually chafes against orders, bucks the system, and makes a pain of himself to both his superiors and those assigned to help him. But the neat thing about this movie is that it stays consistent with Cage's character. He's an extreme athlete turned spy. Thus he does amazing things with a motorcycle, car, snowboard, parachute, and some improvised props too. But he's not a super agent. He doesn't know exotic fighting styles, and he's not terribly good with a gun. In fact, Cage's body count is incredibly low for such a high octane action movie, and the few times he actually killed someone, I was disappointed to see him resort to it. More of that wanting more from the character because of the actor's performance I guess.

This is clearly a big time action movie. Lots of stunts, lots of explosions, lots of action. In fact, 20 minutes into the film I was wondering what they were going to do, because I thought they'd blown their pyrotechnics budget already. But the film delivered the whole way through. No, this isn't Shakespeare, but if you're looking for a solid action film, this isn't a bad choice. There are a few times where things stretch beyond implausible, and cheesy lines are unavoidable, but more often than not these instances are things you can laugh at rather than groan. Action is well shot, allowing you to actually see what's going on (something that's becoming all too rare in action films these days), and characters and performances are solid and interesting.

This is a surprisingly fun action movie with a relatively light touch in terms of outright violence. That's not to say there isn't any, but it's not a frontpiece like it is in other movies, and yet somehow it manages to deliver a highly satisfying story and good time.

RATING: 4/5 Stars

- Clifford Horowitz