In this action-packed sequel to the box-office smash xXx, Ice Cube stars as Darius Stone, a thrill-seeking troublemaker whose criminal record and extreme sports obsession make him the perfect candidate to be the newest xXx agent. He must save the U.S. government from a deadly conspiracy led by five-star general and Secretary of Defense George Deckert (played by Willem Dafoe). Only a renegade xXx agent like Stone has the Xtreme skills to stop Deckert's dangerous military splinter group from taking over the government in America's capital.
With a core audience of gameboys and hot-rodders aged 25 and under, xXx: State of the Union is the kind of action movie that requires literally no thought to enjoy. With Vin Diesel's original character just killed in Bora Bora (for details, see the uncensored unrated director's cut of xXx), Ice Cube steps in to play bad-ass, and the whole franchise takes on a hip-hop edge that's almost admirably absurd. The asinine plot is anarchy in Washington, D.C., as an insanely hawkish Secretary of State (Willem Dafoe) plots a Capitol coup just as the President (Peter Strauss, playing it straight) is giving his state-of-the-union address. All of this is prefaced by Cube's recruitment as a former Navy SEAL turned new-xXx, escaping from jail (Dafoe's character put him there), hooking up with an old flame who runs a chop-shop full of the world's hottest wheels, and reuniting with his old commander (Samuel L. Jackson) for a bullet-train climax that feels like Mission Impossible Lite. You could argue that Diesel's the smartest guy in the franchise for cashing out early, but xXx: State of the Union gets the job done in passable fashion, with action veteran Lee Tamahori delivering the goods while he waits for a grown-up script to come along. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
Great:
I have to say it. Better Than The Original. More action, cool tech and a brand new XXX. The story was also very captivating.
Ice Cube as XXX:
Suspend disbelief, or Alter your mental state, and roll with it. The plot is not particularly believable, but Ice Cube is the man on screen. His attitude and person take over the movie, and he makes up for major plot holes in the film. This one cannot be taken as realistically (?) as Van Diesel's XXX (Unrated Director's Cut), but this movie is fun and entertaining. If you think of the film as Friday Collection (Friday / Next Friday / Friday After Next) meets XXX, its all good. However I will watch... more info
How many levels of suck are there?:
My brother bought me this DVD as a gag gift. I would have to say GAG fits my description of this movie very, very well. Firstly I should note that I wasn't a huge fan of XXX with Vin Diesel, but it is an Oscar winner compared to XXX: State of the Union. This movie was so ridiculous that it was down right funny. There were times I was laughing so hard I had to excuse myself to the lavatory. Now for some reason good old Vin was not in this sequel. So who do we get to replace Vin? Ice Cube, yes Ice Cube.... more info
High Gloss, Low substance:
Watching Ice Cube play the hard guy would-be spy makes you realise - wow! Vin Diesel actually DID have charisma after all!
All pretensions to the part being about spying and stealth are out of the window - the first movie had an appeal of being like a Bond movie on steroids; This one is just action, and could be any action franchise a few movies in. In fact, in terms of substance this could easily have been direct to video for all the weight the star and story carry... however, there are bangs for... more info
