xXx

Review by Clint Morris

There’s a scene in xXx where our titular secret agent is shopped into a room where he's given a show of all the latest gadgets available to him.

After a quick demonstration of the gadget-man's new fangled toys, he takes his pick and sets off.

If the film's spectacular opening stunt, over the top villains, hammy one-liners and continuous array of action weren't enough of a giveaway, after this scene you'll be well and truly convinced of director Rob Cohen's love for all things 007.

But retread or not, you're about to watch one of the most refreshing new action blockbusters of the last few years.

Vin Diesel is Xander Cage, an extreme-sports enthusiast who makes his living by selling videos of his illegal stunts. The testosterone is rampant as Cage performs such stunts as parachuting out of a stolen car as it plunges 700 feet off a bridge into a raging river.

Ultimately busted for the gig – his third strike apparently – Cage is soon given a choice: life behind bars, or working as a super-spy for the NSA. Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) won't be convinced he has the right man though, until he puts Cage into a couple of deadly-real situations, to see if the action brick can worm his way out.

After convincing the agency of his worth, Cage is transported to Prague, where his mission is to stop a group of Euro-thugs, Anarchy 99. As quick as Cage is to hoodwink the enemy and make friends, they're onto the fact that their American friend is a secret agent – and will stop at nothing to put him in a body bag.

In between knocking each villain for six, Cage must stop the chemical weapon they've got programmed; otherwise the world will be no more.

Written by Rich Wilkes and directed by Cohen, this adrenalin-pumping actioner never misses a beat. It's essentially action from beginning to end, with hardly a lacklustre spot in sight. Like the Bond movies, it's the special effects and stunts that steal the show. Audiences will be in awe as our titular hero uses some grand weaponry, and flys, trucks and drives his way into the most astonishing of situations.

Without the charm and guise of the larger than life Diesel, the film mightn't have been the corker it is. He brings a certain something to the role.

Sure, he's a little wooden at times (name one action star that isn'), but for the most part, you never see anything but a super-slick king of action, Xander Cage, before you on the screen. It's safe to say this is just the inauguration of Diesel's action-career.

Plot comes second in films like these, and inevitably this is a film with several holes, but the endless array of spectacular action more than compensates for putty.

Step aside Bond.

4 out of 5

xXx
Australian release: Thursday September 12
Cast: Stars Vin Diesel, Samuel L.Jackson, Asia Argento, Martin Csokas, Michael Roof, Eve, Danny Trejo, Thomas Ian Griffith.
Director: Rob Cohen.
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