Vin
Diesel Donnie
Yen Toni
Collette Samuel
L. Jackson
Deepika Padukone Kris Wu Ruby Rose Tony Jaa Nina Dobrev Ice Cube
My impression: That this film was made purely to highlight its special
effects and bring a videogame look to film—not that others haven’t had that
purpose before. So if this is your
thing, you will love xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Story is secondary to the legendary
(and unreal) acumen of Xander (Diesel), whom everyone thought was dead, but was
only in hiding. The CIA searches
him out, and recruits him to retrieve Pandora’s Box, a deadly weapon they had
in their hands until a band of phenomenal intruders literally snatched it away
from Jane Marke (Collette), a CIA higher-up.
But first, we get a treat of seeing Xander
doing incredible athletic stunts to establish his credibility as not only an
unbelievable athlete, but a patriotic, conscionable citizen--and lover--as well. (He brings television broadcasts to
soccer fans in Central America.)
He is against “men in suits” and a champion of the people.
After Jane Marke recruits him, Xander is
unbelievably quick in bringing her the information she needs by being an
“undercover agent.” (The sexual
and macho symbols are replete throughout the film, meant to please the 15-40
year-old male viewers.) Now the
fun begins as Pandora’s Box, the ultimate deadly weapon, is located as being in
the hands of two people in the Philippines, Xiang (Yen) and his partner Serena
(Padukone).
Marke introduces Xander to his retrieval “team”,
all males, who are completely unacceptable to him. He dispatches them immediately as pussies, and brings
his own people on—both men and women with special skills. Marke is cagey, and although
complaining, she allows him to lead his own team in the assault on the couple in the Philippines
who have Pandora’s Box. They are
Xiang (Yen) and his partner Serena (Padukone) who have a fleet of amazing
fighters of their own.
Xander puts his people in place, and they make
an assault amidst a party. (Sex
and violence are a must in this film).
What follows are a crafty shake-up, as well as the identification of the
real villains. Changing alliances
and the representation of noble motivations give this film a little more
quality beyond the technical achievements.
D. J. Caruso’s film shows how government
agencies can be corrupt and self-serving, but it does not suggest any viable alternatives. Well, perhaps the final scenes with Pandora’s Box does.
A love letter to Vin Diesel and his
phenomenal abilities.
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