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DVD XXX - State of the Union (Full Screen Edition)
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
Review(s): DVD XXX - State of the Union (Full Screen Edition)
The State of the Union is only as strong as XXX
If you're going to make an action movie, think big; that's what I say. XXX: State of the Union thinks big - and then some. I'm not a huge fan of action films, but this one is truly the bee's knees (hey, I'm just trying to avoid saying "This film is awesome" here). I don't really see how anyone could be disappointed in this thriller. Is it realistic? Well, no - but action movies are never realistic. That's why they're called action movies and not documentaries. And, actually, the basic scenario brought to life here might be more possible that many people think - you'll never count me among the crowds chanting "It can't happen here." I'll admit, when I saw the film's PG-13 rating, I was a little wary. PG-13 never bodes well for violence and explosions and bloodshed and general destructive mayhem, but the lack of an R rating turned out to be meaningless here - as there is plenty of stuff that goes boom throughout the entire film.
America loves an anti-hero, especially one with the unsurpassed attitude and general bad-a, uh, steel-plated ba-, uh unsurpassed self-confidence of Darius Stone (Ice Cube). Nine years in a maximum-security prison, courtesy of a corrupt general now serving as Secretary of Defense, hasn't done anything to sugar-coat Stone's outlook on life. (Of course, only civilians can serve as Secretary of Defense, but let's just pretend we don't know that; while we're at it, let's also pretend that said Secretary of Defense is in charge of Presidential security, since the Secret Service is nowhere to be found in this movie). If you're NSA agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) and your whole crew of good men has just been taken out by the most elite of attacks, Stone is just the kind of man you want on your team - and so it is that the good guys bust Stone out of prison to christen him the new XXX. Many extremely expensive explosions, not to mention gunfights and hand-to-hand combat scenes, quickly follow. There are a number of twists and turns along the way to the truth of the unprecedented plot playing out in the Beltway, but let's just say there are no locked doors as far as Stone is concerned. He's a door-crasher from way back. Maybe the elements of the final scenario are a little unrealistic, but I didn't care, since I was watching rather than analyzing the movie at the time.
Others may disagree, but I thought XXX: State of the Union was a great action movie; it had everything I want in this kind of thriller, and there's nothing more enjoyable than getting to the truth of a vast conspiracy - especially when the path is filled with as many explosions as the filmmakers can pack into 100 minutes. It's true that a lot of innocent civilians and a fair share of good guys are killed in the process, but this is just a movie -a wildly entertaining one that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Take It For What It Is!
I've seen this film and I've read some of the reviews and while some of the points are valid, some are just flat out ridiculous!
First, on the film itself, it isn't bad but it won't go down in history as a great action flick! The plot is a little more than paperthin. We pretty much know that Ice Cube and company is going to save the day.
As for the character, in Ice Cube's defense, WHAT'S SO FREAKIN' BAD?! He basically plays the same character in all the films he's in! Even the classic urban tale "Boyz In The Hood" and his role in the "Friday" series is not too much different. As for no regard for human life, DID YOU EVEN WATCH THE FILM!? It was a Presidential Bullet Train! How many people are going to be on it anyway!? Plus, they already knew who was on it. Check for passengers? PLEASE! Besides, not too many action flicks have a regard for human life in them!
As for racism, there was plenty of that but what did you expect with Ice Cube as the lead!? All of his films are like that!
Anyway, there are some cool CG effects in them. Take it for what it is and that's a mindless "shoot 'em up" romp!
The guy from pimp my ride is here...Wooopee !!
There is no consideration for life in this movie. One of the so called "good guys" in the movie blows up an entire train with a missile in order to kill one single bad guy. He does this WITHOUT asking if there are innocent people still on-board.
In another appalling scene, you'll see "nameless" security members gets hurt and killed, but by stroke of luck, the main stars escape danger without a single scratch on their bodies.
To Ice Tray (or whatever your name is) = Vin Dissel you are not, James Bond you are not !
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