The loss of Vin Diesel from the “XXX” film series is a gain for viewers everywhere. He’s probably not a bad guy, but an actor he is not. “XXX: State of the Union” is the sequel to “XXX,” one of the worst action films ever produced and featuring a Diesel performance that can best be described as granite. This sequel had nowhere to go but up, and so “State of the Union” is superior in all ways. That doesn’t make it a great film by any stretch, but indiscriminating action fans aside, the original was a hot steaming turd while this one is a fun stinker.
Taking over for Diesel is the highly entertaining and amusing Ice Cube who conjures up a personality that is equally acidic and sarcastic—in an endearing sort of way. If only Will Smith could have been half as streetwise in “I, Robot.” As the film opens, the National Security Agency’s covert countryside bunker is blown to smithereens and nearly everyone killed except top agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role) and his annoying but useful tech-geek sidekick Toby (Michael Roof, also from the original). To get to the bottom of the attack, Gibbons is forced to find a new XXX—one “with more attitude.” Trust me, Cube brings it.
Darius Stone (Ice Cube) was a top NSA agent under Gibbons until an ill-fated operation and a run-in with present-day Defense Secretary Deckert (Willem Dafoe) netted him 20 years in the slammer.
But this is far too much plot chatter for an action flick like this. Suffice it to say that Darius takes Gibbons up on his offer of being the new XXX. What follows is a medley of wildly over-the-top fight and battle sequences as Darius outwits dozens of top soldiers and the conspirators who control them. Naturally, at the top of the list of evildoers is the nefarious Deckert whose brilliant scheme—in a nutshell—is to stage a bloody coup in order to prevent the President from cutting military spending. They actually hired a writer to make that up.
Thanks to Ice Cube, you can actually manifest some interest in seeing his character through to the finish. The fight scenes run the gamete from spectacular to utterly ridiculous, but for the most part they are exciting and decidedly old school with plenty of hand-to-hand combat to go along with a plethora of car chases, gunplay and explosions. When Cube launches a high-speed boat from a river onto an overpass, the audience in the theater went wild. Of course, the same boisterous crowd could later be heard shouting “F—k this mumbo jumbo sh-t” during a more talky scene so you have to take their view with a grain of salt.
Director Lee Tamahori has done better work in such films as “Mulholland Falls,” the underrated “The Edge” and the Bond film “Die Another Day,” but he brings a high level of energy and enthusiasm to this sequel making it fun in spite of the idiocy of the whole thing. Where this is most noticeable is in the cast. Samuel L. Jackson and Willem Dafoe can play such one-dimensional roles in their sleep, but both give it their best despite many silly lines. “The free world’s in the hands of a bunch of hustlers and thieves,” says a chop-shop owner who decides to help the cause to which Darius responds, “Why should tonight be any different?” Deep stuff.
The violence is excessive, but in a non-threatening PG13 style that is on par with playing a videogame. There is no sex or nudity, but young men will find plenty of arousal in two areas: the lovely ladies that populate the picture (Nona Gaye and Sunny Mabrey are particularly tasty eye candy) and the incredible array of vehicles (the ’67 GTO is amazing). Thinking about the plot too deeply will only cause excessive outbursts of laughter so simply try not to think—just sit back and let the movie play.
The movie is out now in the US and UK. Visit our database for a summary and media.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story