XXX (2002, DVD)

I'm not an action movie chick.

I don't like seeing anything with Arnold or Sylvester in it. Bleck!

So what am I doing seeing this movie? Read on.

The story goes like this.....

Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is a multi-talented man. He is an extreme sports athlete and criminal who likes to use his skills to screw with people who have their priorities in life messed up. An example is, in the opening sequence, Xander steals the car of a Senator who thinks that music and video games are the cause of kids brains rotting.

While all of this is going on, the NSA is having some issues a couple continents away. It seems that every NSA agent they send in to infiltrate a Czech-Republic group who goes by the name Anarchy 99, they end up getting bumped off.

And who is Anarchy 99? They're a group of disgruntled individuals who used to live in Russia and their goal in life is to destroy anything related to pro-government.

Along comes agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) who convinces the NSA that they're going about this infiltration wrong. What they need is a hardened criminal civilian who is totally expendable. Guess who falls into that category? Yep, you got it - Xander Cage.

Here's the deal - Xander must get information on Anarchy 99 or else agent Gibbons will ensure that his third strike - for stealing the Senator's car - catches up with him and then off to the federal pen he goes.

Xander grudgingly agrees and in the process meets up with Anarchy 99 leader Yorgi (Marton Csokas) and his ice princess girlfriend, Yelena (Asia Argento).

They're plotting to destroy the world...say it isn't so!

Will Xander stop them?
Does the ice princess melt in Xander's arms?
Is this anything more than an MTV Music Video?

All this, and more, can be found out if you go see the movie.

So you're wondering, what would make a chick like me give this movie four stars?

Is it because there was a brilliant plot? No. The plot was one of those stories that get played out again and again in movies, tv shows, and of course, cartoons. Bad boy with an edge, saves world from even badder men.

Is it because Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Marton Csokas, and Asia Argento turned in Oscar caliber performances? No. I love Vin Diesel. He's sexy and he's cool and his chemistry with every one was neat. I thought that Samuel Jackson pretty much played his usual role of straight man. Marton and Asia are two very sensual individuals who I'd like to see more of.

Is it because I like seeing cars crash and things blow up? No. The stunts, although at times, not really believable were incredibly fun to watch. I think my favorite was in the opening shot when Vin parachuted out of a crashing-over-the-bridge car.

Well then what was it? I'll tell you what it was. The movie was just fun. Plain ole fun. I loved that this movie could have a lot of action without a bunch of blood and guts. I don't mind action movies but when I start seeing a person's insides run down the street, I'd rather watch something else.

Was there anything bad? Well, I kinda wanted to see some butt shots of Vin or even Asia (she's a hottie!). Other than that, the movie was fine.

I have to tell you that my husband's point of view was just slightly different from mine. He felt that director Rob Cohen and writer Rich Wilkes ripped off a lot of James Bond stuff. Since I've never seen a James Bond movie, I wouldn't know.

Will You Like This?
Sure, just as long as you go into it with the attitude that it doesn't solve world hunger, it's not brain surgery, and you're not going to cry. If you liked the Fast and the Furious, chances are you'll like this too. Fun people - that's all this movie is about.

The Music
For the first twenty minutes of the movie, it was non-stop, hard-hitting music. I felt like I was in the middle of a MTV2 music video. The soundtrack, much like it was for The Fast and the Furious features lots of artists including Moby, Nelly, Gavin Rossdale, and Rammstein.

For Parents
Trip X is rated PG-13 for violence, non-stop action sequences, sensuality, drug content and language. I hardly remember any bad language, there was no nudity (sob), and the drug content was more extraneous to the whole story going on.

I'm sure that if you have boys over the age of 12, they'll probably want to see this. I don't think that there's any harm in taking them. Consider it a bonding moment!

Post Script
Vin Diesel is already signed for the sequel, XXX2, which is expected to be released in the summer of 2004. Director Rob Cohen and writer Rich Wilkes will probably return as well. You can probably count on Asia Argento being out of the sequel.