xXx 2 - The Next Level Review

"xXx 2 - The Next Level" reviews

Movie

xXx 2 - The Next Level

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-04-02 21:27:42

Rating

2.5/5

Provider

Review

So what if the action-packed follow-up XXX: State of the Union is one of the more implausible and ridiculous movies ever conceived. It still made me want to jump into my little Mazada Protégé 5 and race around like the dickens.

Story

U.S. President Sanford (Peter Strauss) is in real trouble. Seems his fairly liberal military initiatives have earned him some enemies, including a radical splinter group of dissenters deep within his administration who plan to assassinate him and his followers. Yeah, that's not good. After surviving a massive hit on the National Security Agency's top-secret headquarters, the unconventional Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) once again finds himself in need of an outsider since his first XXX agent, Xander Cage, was conveniently killed off following the first film (Vin Diesel didn't want to participate in State of the Union, I guess). Gibbons enlists decorated Special Ops soldier Darius Stone (Ice Cube), with whom he once worked. But Stone's now sitting in a military prison. No matter. Soon, assisted by his hometown posse, the revved-up, streetwise, badass new XXX agent is free, heading to the nation's capitol to uncover the insurgents from within and stop the first coup d'etat in American history. It's off the chain, man.

Acting

Ah, finally, the Ice Cube we all know and love. Many of his diehard fans have been puzzled by his, er, choices of late, such as Barbershop 2 and Are We There Yet?, fearful he may have forgotten his hardcore gangsta rap and Boyz N the Hood days. Well, don't fret. Ice Cube knows what he's doing. Sure, he can play footsie with the kids and make a zillion dollars. But he can easily revert back to that dangerous guy, kicking butt with the best of them--and still make a zillion dollars. As Darius, Ice Cube is ALL attitude, with the curled-up lip, glowering stares and powerhouse punches. He definitely adds street credibility to the action-hero persona. As his counterpart, Jackson wisely leaves most of the stunt work for his costar but matches Ice Cube's tough-guy stance bullet for bullet, even though the both of them tend to look uncomfortable at times having to say their contrived lines. ''I was born guilty''? Please. As far as the rest of the cast, most overplay their parts with aplomb, especially Willem Dafoe as the trigger-happy Secretary of Defense Deckert, a former general who, of course, has ties to Stone and Gibbons. Why would the Oscar-nominated actor do something as frivolous as this? Probably because he just wants to shoot guns and blow things up, too, God bless him.

Direction

OK, so State of the Union is farfetched. As you watch, you'll undoubtedly roll your eyes or laugh inappropriately on more than one occasion and may actually yell out, ''Oh, now, come on!'' But do a concise story, compelling characters and gripping dialogue really matter when you're blowing up stuff? Absolutely not. Sure, it helps but it certainly isn't necessary, especially if you're into fast cars, monster trucks, major artillery and pyrotechnics. I confess I am one of these people. Director Lee Tamahori, who most recently helmed the high-octane Die Another Day, aptly takes over the reins from XXX director Rob Cohen (who instead executive produced the sequel). Instead of the whole extreme sports arena, which made the original so much fun, Tamahori uses more conventional action setups with that street sensibility. Each one is more outrageous than the next. A tank battle on an aircraft carrier, shooting up the inside of the U.S. Capitol, a suped-up Ford Cobra speeding after a bullet train-- it grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go.

Bottom Line

With Ice Cube at the wheel, XXX: State of the Union delivers all the adrenaline a junkie could ever want. Just don't pay too much attention to anything else going on in the movie.

Copyright © CinemaSource 2007.

Movie

XXX2: THE NEXT LEVEL

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-25 21:09:37

Provider

Review

Less the next level than a new lead man following Vin Diesel's foolish decision to make the Pitch Black sequel (The Chronicles Of Riddick) rather than reprise his role as 'James Bond on steroids', with extreme sports skills.

Instead the role is played by rapper turned actor Ice Cube, whose bulky frame doesn't make for the most elegant action hero but does add a dose of realism to one of Hollywood's more preposterous concepts. Cube is former Navy Seal Darius Stone, a renegade agent on Augustus Gibbons' (Samuel L Jackson) XXX program, who's sent to Washington to defuse a military splinter group led by George Deckhert, (Willem Dafoe).

Despite a plot that's even more ridiculous than its predecessor, Cube is, improbably, a far more convincing agent than the follically-challenged Diesel. And while most punters intent on seeing this won't be too worried about the plot as long as the action compensates, director Tamahori has failed to learn from the mistakes he made helming 007 flick Die Another Day. Gargantuan explosions, car chases (on a railway track) and even hand-to-hand fight sequences are shoddily shot and insanely edited, rendering the film impossible to follow.

Still, Cube and fellow rapper Xzibit bring a little charisma to the script, while Dafoe attempts a government coup with his usual manic gusto. Ultimately, though, XXX2 proves that this franchise is unlikely to match Bond movies for longevity.

Copyright © 2005.