Starring: Vin Diesel, Samuel Jackson, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas
Written By: Rich Wilkes
Directed By: Rob Cohen
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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The Vin Diesel action movie has a sequel coming out soon so it was inevitable that Sony would release the 15th Anniversary edition Blu-Ray. I saw this originally in the theaters but haven’t seen it since. It’s an okay action movie that has it’s moments but it doesn’t exactly hold up well over the years.

xXx is about the NSA trying to find a new spy, one that doesn’t have any ties to the government and would blend in nicely with the mercenary Russian group Anarchy 99. They come across Xander Cage or X (Vin Diesel), an “EXTREME!” seeker who videotapes him stealing rich people’s cars and trashing them. NSA agents Gibbons (Samuel L Jackson) wants him to infiltrate the group and take them down. While undercover, X gets along well with leader Yorgi (Marton Csokas) before he discovers he’s really working with the government. Also while undercover, X meets Yelena (Asia Argento) who’s been undercover for FSB for 2 years, who’s also trying to take down Yorgi. They all have to rush to beat Yorgi before he sets off a bomb heading towards Prague.

I saw xXx in theaters when it was originally released 15 years ago, for whatever reason. It looked like fun and it was for the most part; it’s just not a very good movie. The dialogue is and always has been extremely cheesy. When Xander Cage and Yorgi talk about The Vandals and say lines from their song “Anarchy Burger”, I just roll my eyes. I did back then too. When I think of political punk bands, The Vandals aren’t one of them. The punk references just seemed forced. The “I live for this shit” line we saw in the movie and in the trailer repeatedly was bad but nothing is as bad as the “welcome to the Xander zone” line. Oh god. This movie makes Arnold’s movie look like Oscar films. Believe it or not, Vin Diesel has gotten better with his acting over the years but this wasn’t his strongest movie, that’s for sure.

More observations I had after not seeing the movie for 15 years. The soundtrack features some terrible nu-metal bands and then there’s Hatebreed, who i’ve always liked but aren’t nu-metal. The characters like Xander and his friends in the movie, or at least the beginning reminds me of the “Extreme!” douche bros from Harold and Kumar. It’s funny seeing Tony Hawk and Rick Thorne in this; I wonder if they regret being in it? But then again Tony was also David Spade’s stunt double in Police Academy 4. Just a bit of a height difference don’t you think?

I’ve said a lot of negative things about the movie but xXx is still at least, a fun action movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. At least I hope they aren’t taking themselves too seriously. The new movie doesn’t look like it’s going for the serious take on action movies when Vin Diesel is skateboarding off buses and riding motorbikes in waves. With this type of movie, you have to shut off your brain.

The Blu-Ray includes a new featurette about the sequel to xXx, director’s commentary, some other featurettes and features that were included on the Blu-Ray from previous editions. The little fluff piece about xXx: Return of Xander Cage was only a few minutes long. It’s nothing spectacular, just a promotional piece. All the other stuff you’ve seen before, if you owned any previous movies.

xXx has some great action but the rest of the movie could have used a lot of work. It certainly doesn’t hold up very well over the years. The dialogue is laughable and the outdated soundtrack doesn’t help either. But…there’s a fan base here I suppose that likes this movie and enjoys anything with Vin Diesel. I’d rather watch all the Fast and The Furious movies over this one.

Features:
Origins of a Renegade
Director’s commentary
10 featurettes
Deleted Scenes
Music Videos

Video:
1080p High Definition

Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1

Bottom Line: xXx doesn’t hold up very well but the movie still has a few fun moments
Running Time: 124 mins
Rating: PG-13
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: