CRITIQUE

When I saw this film last year I thought it was actually cool, or enjoyable at best. There was nothing profound or provoking about it, but just a brainless action flick with all the action type clichés. Watching the “director’s cut”, however, I just didn’t enjoy it as much. It was too corny and cheesy, and basically it combines a typical James Bond scenario in an Arnie/Sly action-packed world. And who better to do that than Vin Diesel himself? I don’t think he should’ve turned down Fast and Furious 2 to do this instead. Because to tell you the truth, Fast and Furious is his best role in the constraints of clichés, and probably will only be his best role.

I was actually thinking of If Looks Could Kill, which was a satirical film about James Bond (and ultimately started a short-lived cartoon series called "James Bond Jr. which should come back as a live-action TV series for The WB), while watching XXX.  It does spark a satirical approach to the James Bond aspect of things. However, because this film is basically one of the “only watch once” deals, I couldn’t sit through it a second time.  The action scenes are still cool enough, but with the silly one-liners and the inability to not talk in large syllables (which is a thing, I guess, as most action stars have a hard time doing), I was more bored with the film that at one time thought was enjoyable. The “director’s cut” of XXX is more or less worthless. The added scenes do not add much to the film, they’re pretty much fluff, and the attempt of this new cut is to make the film seem newer, but it doesn’t work.

THE VIDEO

Columbia Tristar presents XXX in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is remarkable to say the least. It’s not too darkened, actually a perfect light color for an action movie. The explosions and whatnot fill the screen with very well. It’s so close to perfect, it is almost as if you are part of the movie itself.

THE AUDIO

Columbia Tristar presents XXX in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and French Dolby Digital 5.1. I did view this film using stereo-system speakers, and I did have it pretty loud. While the substance of the movie pretty much sucks this is one film to blast in full volume to annoy those pesky little neighbors of yours. The “boom’s”, “bang’s”, and more “boom’s”, are presented loud and clear. This filled my “loudness” fix all right.

THE EXTRAS

Disc 1:

The commentary by director Rob Cohen is quite boring. Fascinating guy – but I think I made this point many times through my nagging on various reviews, hearing one person talk is usually boring.

Exclusive scene from XXX State of the Union - A scene from the new motion picture.

Sneak Peek: The Making of XXX State of the Union – Footage of the new film.

Of course, a re-release of the original in time for the sequel’s theatrical debut is going to try and sell the new film on the DVD. However, I’m not particularly interested in the new film although I did watch the above clips, but it’s *yawn* material.

Multi-Angle Stunt Views and Starz! On the Set: The Making of XXX are carried over from the original DVD release.

Disc 2:

The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander - A short bridging of the two feature films. I could really get into this one. For starters, it’s a cheap way to “bridge” the two films. Without getting into spoilers, they kill off “X” in a cheesy way, using a different actor (camera shots focus on the guy’s body instead of the head, knowing it is a different actor and giving the illusion that it’s in fact Vin Diesel, all with a cheap voice-over from the first film). This short isn’t good; it looks cheaply produced, filmed and executed (in terms of not even following continuity).

Other extras include Storyboard to Final Film Comparisons, Agent Shavers' Gadgets Presentation, The End Credit Sequence - Raw and Uncut and Music Video for Hatebreed's "I Will Be Heard". These are nothing exciting, basically filler material and more. Need I say more?

Oh, and lastly, the DVD package comes with a free ticket for the "epic" sequel.

FINAL THOUGHTS