Monday, January 16, 2017

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage Out January 20



By Darlene Donloe

In 2002, Vin Diesel hit the big screen in the form of Xander Cage, a likeable character in an action packed film called XXX. The film would become the anchor of a high-energy franchise.  Next came XXX: the State of the Union. This Friday (January 20) the third episode in the franchise continues with xXX: Return of Xander Cage.

Vin Diesel didn’t appear in the second installment. It starred Ice Cube.

Vin Diesel is back!

This time around the spy thriller finds extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) coming out of self-imposed exile and on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior Xiang and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora’s Box. In layman’s terms a thingamabob that is blowing up communication satellites that survey the earth is stolen and Xander Cage and his team have to get it back in order to save the world.

He can’t do it alone. So, of course, he recruits some bad-ass cohorts to help him save the world from evil – once again.

If you thought Xander Cage was bigger and badder than ever in the first installment, hold on to your hats because this time Xander Cage is in turbo effect.


The stunts are stunning and extreme, while the action is in full force.  This is xXx 10.0!

That being said, the story is a bit sketchy and the plot is lacking. There are far too many holes in the script and the banter between the characters borders on ridiculous.

However, fans of this franchise aren’t watching it for the story, the plot or the dialogue. All they really want to see is the action. In that case, they will be happy with this latest installment.  Adrenaline junkies will be heaven.

The best part about this film is the diversity of the cast.  The film opens up with secret agent Samuel L. Jackson (Gibbons) trying to recruit Brazilian football star Neymar.  When it’s time for Xander to assemble a team to save the world he enlists Indian star Deepika Padukone, Donnie Yen from Honk Kong, Kris Wu is Canadian/Chinese and Tony Jaa is from Thailand.  Others are from China, Australia, Scotland and Canada. It's the United Nations!  In actuality, the film shows how when the world works together – it can save itself. Brilliant!



xXx: The Return of Xander Cage is directed by DJ Caruso and stars Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone, Toni Collette, Ruby Rose, Nina Dobrev, Tony Jaa, Kris Wu, Michael Bisping, Rory McCann, Nicky Jam, Neymar Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson.

It’s produced by Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Vin Diesel and Samantha Vincent.


On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likeable), O (oh, yeah) and E (excellent), xXx: The Return of Xander Cage gets an L (likeable).


Trailer

No comments:

Post a Comment