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Film XXX: Return of Xander Cage

Shale

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 24, 2016
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85
XXX: Return of Xander Cage
Movie Blurb by Shale
January 24, 2017

This was one of my movies to see this week, because I really like Vin Diesel action movies. I just watched the 2002 XXX last week and enjoyed it tho it was a bit absurd in some of the premise, sort of like the old James Bond movies of my past.

The opening is with NSA Agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) trying to recruit a new agent, futballer Neymar Jr. into his xXx program. This is in the midst of a satellite going out of orbit and falling to earth, destroying part of the city. Turns out someone made the satellite fall and threatens to do it again. The CIA catches that person and retrieves the "Pandora's Box" and Agent Jane Marke (Toni Collette) is meeting with a group of agents when someone crashes (literally) into the meeting, has a running gun & martial arts battle with the agents and steals the Box.

Then it moves to an opening like the first movie with Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) doing some unbelievable stunts skiing down a jungle slope, then going down a winding paved road at fantastic speed on a skateboard. He is tracked down by Agent Marke to retrieve the Box.

Xander then assembles his team of XXX operatives, which is the usual motley crew of young ppl with unusual sets of skills. And the non-stop action begins as foreign intelligence agencies and freelancers also try tor get the Box. One of those outside influences with ulterior motive is Serena Unger (Deepika Padukone) who naturally has a seductive fight with Xander when they meet, but like Bond he will eventually get more intimate with her.

Xander & Serena Meet
xxx-return-of-xander-cage-falls-on-its-1st-monday-at-the-box-office-1.jpg


This movie made me realize that I may have outgrown some of these movies geared for teen guys. It is full of cute babes with guns, like sharpshooter Adele Wolff (Ruby Rose), who don't hesitate to use them or kick ass with martial arts skills. And, Xander has several main squeezes around the planet. In one scene he supposedly beds half a dozen at one time.

Xander & Serena Pals
xXx-Return-of-Xander-Cage.jpg


Maybe I have become too removed from the young mod squad of the 21st Century, altho I too find the styles and strangely dyed hair and tats appealing, as well as the fact that the cute girls seem to be as interested in other cute girls as much as guys, it sort of reminds me that this is no longer my element. More style than substance.

Adele & Serena
321BF7CE00000578-3488710-Fierce_Taking_to_Twitter_on_Friday_Ruby_Rose_shared_a_snap_of_he-m-38_1457748685438.jpg


Apparently, most of the reviewers are middle aged or older because the aggregate critics on Rotten Tomatoes only gave it a 42% Fresh. Their consensus was, "xXx: Return of Xander Cage should satisfy fans of the first two installments, but its preponderance of set pieces can't quite make up for a tired storyline that fails to take the franchise – or action fans – anywhere new." Yeah, sort of like another James Bond or Expendables or A-Team movie.
 
nice! i wrote a capsule review of the original when i was writing the movie column for electronic gaming monthly magazine:

Shaken...and stirred” quips XXX in a novel twist on the classic Bond line.

Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is a spy - codename XXX - so comparison with the classic English icon is inevitable. However, beyond some super cool gadgets we all secretly want for Xmas and the witty one-liners when enemy agents die horribly, XXX is no mere Bond.

Living well outside the law, XXX rewrites his own rulebook early in the movie with an insane stunt (and what a stunt!). He gets caught. The authorities give him a choice – go to work for The Man or go to jail forever. Working undercover to provide intelligence on a ruthless Russian crime ring, XXX goes above and beyond the call of duty, saving the world (literally). He gets the girl too, of course.

Special features: XXX the movie is an adrenaline rush and the DVD special features keep the pace hot. The Director’s commentary and various documentaries share the excitement of how the movie was made. Cool cars play a big part in Xander’s world and they have a cool featurette of their own: “Building Speed: The Vehicles of XXX

writing reviews in <200 words is fun...

i'll be interested to see this 15-years-later sequel.

alasdair
 
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