xXx (2002)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Rob Cohen

Writer (WGA):

Rich Wilkes (written by)

Release Date:

9 August 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

If you want someone to save the world, make sure it's someone who likes the world as it is.

Plot:

Xander Cage is an extreme sports athelete recruited by the government on a special mission.

Plot Keywords:

Agent | Spy | Extreme Sports | Machete | Poison Gas

Awards:

4 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Vin Diesel	...	Xander Cage
Asia Argento	...	Yelena
Marton Csokas	...	Yorgi
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Agent Augustus Gibbons
Michael Roof	...	Agent Toby Lee Shavers
Richy Müller	...	Milan Sova
Werner Daehn	...	Kirill
Petr Jákl	...	Kolya (as Petr Jakl)
Jan Pavel Filipensky	...	Viktor (as Jan Filipensky)
Tom Everett	...	Senator Dick Hotchkiss
Danny Trejo	...	El Jefe
Thomas Ian Griffith	...	Agent Jim McGrath
Eve	...	J.J.
Leila Arcieri	...	Jordan King
William Hope	...	Agent Roger Donnan

Also Known As:

Triple X (USA) (informal English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, non-stop action sequences, sensuality, drug content and language.

Runtime:

124 min | 132 min (unrated director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Spanish | Russian | Czech

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Taiwan:R-12 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:12 | Canada:14+ (TV rating) | Brazil:14 | India:UA | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Austria:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (uncut DVD version) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (director's cut) | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) (director's cut) | Singapore:PG (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (original rating) (cut) | UK:12 (video rating) (2003) (cut) | UK:15 (director's cut) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Auburn, California, USA

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

When Xander enters Yorgi's club, the musician outside is playing the theme to The Third Man (1949) on the zither.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the "care package" takes Xander to the basement to show his tools to him, a wedding ring is visible in some shots of the "care package's" hands, but not in others.

Quotes:

Toby Lee Shavers: Knocked over a few 7-Elevens, have we?
Xander Cage: Nah, I had my leg in a cast for about three months. All I did was play first-person shooter video games.
Toby Lee Shavers: That's a really sad story.

Movie Connections:

References Frankenstein (1994)

Soundtrack:

The Third Man Theme

Not exactly smart entertainment, but fun.

Look, I'm not going to pretend that this is some sort of masterpiece. Though it is basically another "generic action flick", the twists that they add to it make it worth watching. The way they incorporate their "recruitment program" into the movie is fun and original, and though Vin Diesel doesn't really "act" in it, it's a lot of fun to watch. It has a few suspenseful plot elements, and the way they incorporate his status as an extreme sports star (not a spoiler, it's in the previews) into the way he conducts himself as a secret agent makes it more believable. Ever think about some of the stunts that go on in an action movie and wonder, "Okay, exactly WHY would this particular person know how to do that?", because it seems completely unlikely that there would be some sort of training program for the stunt they just pulled off? This movie doesn't have that, because whether he's on a motorcycle, skis, or whatever, you can believe that an extreme sports star would be able to pull off what he's doing. Though the plot is as unrealistic as most movies of this genre, the stunts are a lot more believable than you'll find in most.