xXx2: THE MEANER, THE BETTER
by Reymundo Salao
Just Another Film Junkie
The first "xXx" movie may have been sort of a "big joke" because it was too campy, too much of an eye candy. But a line in the sequel entitled "xXx2 (The Next Level")" (also released in the US with the title "xXx2: State of the Union" which, to my opinion is a better title) that had the character played by Samuel Jackson say "The new xXx (agent) has got to be more than just some surfer, he's got to be better and more dangerous" And I do agree with that statement, the new xXx movie is indeed better than the first one. I may also have liked the idea of Vin Diesel coming back for this sequel, but casting Ice Cube as the new action agent met up to the "astig" factor of what the xXx franchise seems to stand for. In fact, Ice Cube just juiced it up several notches up from being just "better".
In a way of seeing it, xXx is the American counterpart of James Bond, only with a little more edge, a little more rock n' roll, and a little more American-type-of rugged factor. In the first movie, a secret government espionage agency spearheaded by Augustus Gibbons (played by Samuel Jackson) has recruited a secret agent, not chosen from military ranks, but ones off a civilian list of thugs, ex-cons, and adventurers. That agent was the first "xXx agent", and his mission was successful. On this second movie, a new enemy has risen, a military splinter group that is conspiring to overthrow the U.S. Government. This has led Gibbons to employ the services of an ex-soldier named Darius Stone, now code-named as the new xXx (agent), to track down these conspirators and stop them from overthrowing the government.
One thing I like about this movie is that it proves that an action hero should not necessarily be somebody with a standard action hero physique with the lean figure and silly abs for a Rambo pose. Ice Cube is the hero here, somebody who, not only looks a bit too short for a standard Rambo, but also is a bit chubby. It is probably his screen presence and aura that has made him fit for the cool, bad-ass action hero title. His ugly facial expression when he's upset, is pure hard-edged action hero in itself. Ice Cube was formerly a rapper from way back in the days when rap music was still cool, when rap music had a little more meaning and angst. Ice Cube was one of those rappers associated with early 90's "Gangsta Rap". And when he went into the transition of being an actor, his "angry nigger" personality fit in with Hollywood. But he later proved to be a very flexible actor when he began to appear in numerous films where he excelled in other varied roles such as in films like "Barbershop" and "All About the Benjamins" where he was able to show his sense of humor. But on xXx2, he is superb as the action lead. Samuel Jackson has a bigger role this time, as he gets to go around and shoot at the bad guys. Then there's the villain played by Willem Dafoe, who to my opinion, seems to have become too stereotyped already, but still gets the job done.
The film is directed by Lee Tamahori who also directed "Mulholland Falls", "The Edge", and the last James Bond movie "Die Another Day", which really helps with the idea that he is indeed fit as director of this project and that it would surely interest those who haven't watched it yet, that what they got from that last Bond movie is not so far from the kind of action thrill-ride you will get out of xXx2. Some critics may dismiss xXx2 as a film that is filled with clichés. But in this day and age, everything seems to be a cliché already. It would be dumb to take this film too seriously, for this is within the genre of action eye-candy, and under the classification of something I would call as "spy-fiction" (Spy movies like the James Bond movies and MI:2. They may be far-fetched, and may be far from what is considered a serious espionage movie, but still are undeniably entertaining.). What is important is the kind of satisfaction you will get out of xXx2, that "xXx2 The Next Level" is very much Explosively Fun! Its screening schedules at Robinsons Movieworld are the following: 11:15 AM, 1:15 PM, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 9:15 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment