The Unseen Movie Review

XXX2: State of the Union

In 2002, and after already generating interest through some smaller roles, Vin Diesel seemed to all and sundry to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone as he finally took on the lead in an all-action macho spectacular. The only trouble was that the film in question, xXx (complete with the bizarre capitalisation), wasn’t really that good. Yes, it was fun. Yes, it had some good action sequences. But it simply wasn’t possible to like, identify with or aspire to be like Diesel’s gruff, self-satisfied secret agent. Without a likeable lead, action films are doomed to failure.

So when Diesel allowed his new-found fame to go to his head and decided to turn down the sequel (which for some reason has also lost the odd capitalisation of the first movie), he actually did the filmmakers a favour. They, of course, were not able to see this at the time, but thanks to the lack of Diesel they have been able to find a lead actor who is far, far more appealing – even if he is simultaneously a highly unlikely action star.

Yep, this time the XXX (or xXx) moniker has been given to rap legend Ice Cube, once part of the groundbreaking group N.W.A. alongside Eminem favourite Dr. Dre. Ice Cube has been knocking around in films since his debut in “gangsta” classic Boyz n the Hood, and generally made a good show of it. In recent years, especially since his turn in 1995’s superb Friday but also in the recent Barbershop films, he has shown a definite talent for comedy. So although he had a rock-hard image back in his 1980s rapping heyday, now Ice Cube is generally regarded as a cuddly and fun kind of guy - an odd choice for a tough ex-con special agent.

Diesel wasn’t the only one to quit the franchise – when he walked, so too went the first film’s director, Rob Cohen, a flashy try-hard responsible for the earlier Diesel vehicle The Fast and the Furious. For the sequel, they’ve been able to get in someone with a bit of talent, New Zealander Lee Tamahori. With experience both of traditional action (the Bond film Die Another Day) and combining close characterisation with realistic violence (the brutal, low-budget Once Were Warriors), Tamahori certainly has the CV to pull this sort of thing off.

So, can the Ice Cube/Tamahori combination do something more interesting with the idea of a special agency which recruits talented criminals to protect the United States than the Diesel/Cohen partnership managed? Well, yes and no. The single best thing in the first film was Samuel L. Jackson as XXX’s stone-faced boss, and he returns again in a greatly expanded role. All well and good. The only trouble is, the plot’s hardly an original or especially interesting one, centring around an attempted coup by a maniacal general turned US Defence Secretary, played by a typically over-the-top Willem Dafoe.

In other words, it’s Ice Cube versus Donald Rumsfeld. If you think of it like that, and mentally replace Dafoe with Rumsfeld whenever he appears onscreen, this film becomes almost a work of genius.

Ice Cube is a far better lead than Diesel ever was, and Tamahori a far more coherent director than Cohen, but there is otherwise little new here – and certainly nothing in the way of intelligence. But then, if you’re tempted by this, mental stimulation is hardly what you’re after – just explosions, stunts, and the occasional one-liner. Here, XXX2 delivers amply. No classic, but braindead fun nonetheless.

posted by Nosemonkey @ 12:00 AM