xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE
***
Director: D.J. Caruso
Screenwriter: Rich Wilkes based on characters by F. Scott Frazier
Principal Cast:
Vin Diesel
Donnie Yen
Deepika Padukone
Kris Wu
Ruby Rose
Ice Cube
Toni Collette
Samuel L. Jackson
Country: China/USA/Canada
Classification: M
Runtime: 107 mins
Australian release date: 19 January 2017
Previewed at: Event Cinemas, Broadway, Sydney on 18 January, 2017
The soon-to-turn-50 actor Vin Diesel has blasted back on screen reprising his role as the heavily tattooed extreme athlete Xander Cage, who was presumed dead after his misadventures in 2002’s xXx. Using a multicultural cast that will appeal to audiences across the globe, particularly the ever-expanding Chinese market, xXx : Return of Xander Cage is a high octane, thrilling visual extravaganza that sets up a rollicking pace from the get-go and rarely lets up until the final credits.
Recruited by NSA operative Jane Marke (Toni Collette) to recover a powerful weapon called Pandora’s Box that can weaponise satellites by directing them towards Earth, Xander teams up with a bunch of thrill-seeking bad asses from around the world that ultimately includes one of India’s female superstars Deepika Padukone, Chinese actors Donnie Yen and Kris Wu, Thailand’s Tony Jaa and our very own Ruby Rose. Using the most amazing stunts (including a spectacular motorbike ride on skis through a surf ‘tube’) backed up by a thumping hip-hop soundtrack, the over-the-top spectacle is like James Bond for the ‘burbs. The script is as corny as hell, with lines like, “There are no more patriots, just rebels and tyrants,” but they’re delivered with a knowing wink; no-one thinks they’re creating great art here. Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) gives the game away when he says all they have to do is, “Kick some ass, get the girl, and try to look dope while you’re doing it!”
Oh yes, there’s much to chuckle over here and you can’t help but feel that it’s Diesel who gets the last laugh, for the word is there’s already another xXx on the slate. The BBC’s review of xXx: State of the Union said, "Viewed on its own trashy terms, it succeeds brilliantly" and that applies in equal measure to this one.
Screenwriter: Rich Wilkes based on characters by F. Scott Frazier
Principal Cast:
Vin Diesel
Donnie Yen
Deepika Padukone
Kris Wu
Ruby Rose
Ice Cube
Toni Collette
Samuel L. Jackson
Country: China/USA/Canada
Classification: M
Runtime: 107 mins
Australian release date: 19 January 2017
Previewed at: Event Cinemas, Broadway, Sydney on 18 January, 2017
The soon-to-turn-50 actor Vin Diesel has blasted back on screen reprising his role as the heavily tattooed extreme athlete Xander Cage, who was presumed dead after his misadventures in 2002’s xXx. Using a multicultural cast that will appeal to audiences across the globe, particularly the ever-expanding Chinese market, xXx : Return of Xander Cage is a high octane, thrilling visual extravaganza that sets up a rollicking pace from the get-go and rarely lets up until the final credits.
Recruited by NSA operative Jane Marke (Toni Collette) to recover a powerful weapon called Pandora’s Box that can weaponise satellites by directing them towards Earth, Xander teams up with a bunch of thrill-seeking bad asses from around the world that ultimately includes one of India’s female superstars Deepika Padukone, Chinese actors Donnie Yen and Kris Wu, Thailand’s Tony Jaa and our very own Ruby Rose. Using the most amazing stunts (including a spectacular motorbike ride on skis through a surf ‘tube’) backed up by a thumping hip-hop soundtrack, the over-the-top spectacle is like James Bond for the ‘burbs. The script is as corny as hell, with lines like, “There are no more patriots, just rebels and tyrants,” but they’re delivered with a knowing wink; no-one thinks they’re creating great art here. Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) gives the game away when he says all they have to do is, “Kick some ass, get the girl, and try to look dope while you’re doing it!”
Oh yes, there’s much to chuckle over here and you can’t help but feel that it’s Diesel who gets the last laugh, for the word is there’s already another xXx on the slate. The BBC’s review of xXx: State of the Union said, "Viewed on its own trashy terms, it succeeds brilliantly" and that applies in equal measure to this one.