XXX: State of the Union (2005, DVD)

Has it gotten to the point where if you've seen one Triple X then you've seen them all? Apparently director Lee Tamahori and screen writer Simon Kinberg thought audiences needed another triple X, but this time it's xXx: State of the Union (2005). This time you guessed it; we are now dealing with domestic terrorism, which means things are going to get nasty. The film opens with Darius Stone an anti-hero who is in prison for something he did not do. The predictable plot spins around a bunch of military men led by former General George Octavius Deckert who is now the Secretary of State....

The obvious intent of having a sequel to the first 'XXX' movie, was to capitalize of the popularity of it. Unfortunately, Vin Diesel wanted nothing to do with the film, and the creators decided they really didn't care, and fished around for someone to fill the shoes. Enter Ice Cube, as the NEW triple X. The attempt quickly becomes, to show how he is badder, tougher, and more lethal than the last XXX, and that he is basically an improvement on the original. Yawn. It was an expected facet of the movie, but at the same time, it is something that simply isn't true. Vin's character was as tough as.

xXx 2 is the sequel to the action-packed Vin Diesel movie from a couple years ago. Like too many action movie sequels, it is full of dumb dialogue, cheesy one-liners, busty women, and over-the-top unrealistic action and situations. As soon as I realized Vin Diesel was not in this sequel, I knew it was not going to be as good as the first. The plot behind the original xXx was that a secret government agency would recruit thugs and criminals to do special James Bond type missions. That way, if those agents are killed, nobody will miss them. In this movie, Ice Cube becomes the new triple-X after.

xXx: State of the Union is a thrill-a-minute, action packed movie that's significantly better than the original xXx. From the moment a crack team infiltrates an NSA bunker housed deep underneath a Virginia horse farm using electronic probes and weapons that would make any science fiction movie green with envy, the race is on. Only the head of the triple X program, Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) and a lone techie (Michael Roof) survive and escape. Knowing it had to be an inside job, Gibbons goes outside the system for help - way outside. He turns to Darius Stone (Ice Cube), sentenced to..