xXx: State of the Union (2005) User Reviews (251)

Not worth watching

[Sharkey360 · 3/10 · 27 April 2005]

Released in the Philippines as "xXx: The Next Level", this sequel is definitely more expensive, has more action, has similar number of stunts and has new action lead played by an unlikely actor. But despite the production values, this sequel is definitely not worth your time and money.

Vin Diesel, who made people think that xXx stands for "Xander Cage is eXtremely eXplosive" being the hero of the original, is nowhere to be found which is both a good and bad thing. Diesel can deliver the action and stunts solidly but he's so annoying when it comes to dialog and comedy moments. I always hated the "Think PlayStation!" line.

In the sequel, Samuel L. Jackson's agency gets desperate and decides to hire a new action agent with "more attitude". It turned out to be Ice Cube, a prisoner in the film.

Ice Cube never fits in well with his action-packed role. Compared to Diesel, Cube is never convincing in doing action and stunts. Worse, Cube is very lousy with his dialog and certain moments that demanded comedy. I think Cube is better off with a pure-comedy or pure-hip hop role (be it lead or supporting) but as an action star? NO WAY! I'd rather watch Ice Cube in his old role in Anaconda than this movie! You will end up wishing the producers got back Diesel in the sequel.

Samuel L. Jackson this time gets more screen time although I would prefer they lessened his action scenes and added talking scenes instead. Early in the film, you'll see Jackson dual wield guns ala John Woo (to live up to his position in his agency and survive) but I find his role in the first movie better. Still it's nice to see him get more screen time this time.

Willem Dafoe, who played a Vietnam soldier and a special forces coordinator before, plays the defense secretary who plans to overthrow the government. His presence is very well felt and he delivers a good performance. You will hate him even more in this film than in Spider-Man.

Sunny Mabrey? She is very pretty and very sexy. In short a hot girl but she's nothing more than just eye candy here and she cannot be taken seriously. She should be given some roles that demand performance, not looks.

Lee Tamahori, whose most successful flick was Die Another Day, is the director this time but most noticeable is his increased use of computer graphics. Thanks to him, the film's pace is fast and something always happen on-screen to keep you awake.

xXx story this time is shallower. Conspiracies are supposed to be deep and detailed but this sequel simply skipped all the requirements just to deliver action, explosions, crappy dialog and special effects. The sequel is best viewed as a non-thinking, MTV-styled edited action flick.

Action scenes and special effects are plenty but certain scenes are just too unbelievable to see and accept. I did notice however that the action in the sequel are more military in nature when compared to that of the first film wherein its action is more related to extreme sports.

I don't recommend watching this sequel at all. You are better of skipping it. But if you really want to watch it, better wait for the DVD release instead.

Mediocre following about one army man incarnated by Ice Cube and with intense action scenes

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 26 February 2007]

Darius Stone(Ice Cube:BarberShop,Ghost of Mars,Three Kings) is recruited by the government on a special mission.NSA Agent August Gibbons(Samuel L Jackson)forces him to cooperate with the government and avoid returning to Prison.Betting Darius can succeed where other conventional agents have failed .Gibbons sends Stone to investigate in the high politic world,using his natural abilities and a whole lot of position.He's helped by agent Kyle Steele(Scott Speedman).His mission to gather information on a deadly conspiracy led by Secretary of Defense(William Dafoe) that may just be planning the taking over US government and substituting the President(Peter Strauss).Darius must combat an intelligent organization and a powerful enemy far beyond his possibilities.

It's a standard actioner with no much sense where there are suspense,thriller,pursuits,struggles, explosions and minimum characterization. The film is plenty of macho man incarnated by Ice Cube who makes an embarrassing acting.The picture contains fights,gun-play,chases,firepower and frenetic pursuits with bounds and leaps as when a water-motorcycle runs afoul.It's tense and exciting at time though also a routine unstopped action film less than memorable.Colorful cinematography by David Tattersall and appropriate music adjusted to the action by Marco Beltrani.The film is lavishly produced by the great producer of action genre Neal Moritz(Prison break,Torque,Swat,Stealth,Skulls,Fast and furious I,II).The motion picture is regularly directed by Lee Tamahori(Along came a spider,Once were warriors) who made much better in James Bond series(Die another day) .Rating : Below average

Needs better action-directing

[Antagonisten · 3/10 · 19 April 2005]

Action without brains is actually a genre i have nothing against. As long as the action sequences are well made that is. "xXx: State of the Union" is a fair try in the genre but ultimately falls short.

The plot is as ridiculous as in the first movie. The NSA-agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) is once again looking in weird places trying to find a new agent that can break the rules and succeed. This time he finds Darius Stone (Ice Cube) in a military prison. Stone is an ex Navy Seal who will help Gibbons fight off a rogue part of the US Military trying to dispose of the president.

Seriously, no one watches these movies for the plot anyway. So that the plot is ridiculous and cheesy is beside the point. No one watches this for the acting either. So that Ice Cube is not as much an actor as a walking scowl is ALSO beside the point. He does about as good a job as Vin Diesel did anyway. What is NOT beside the point though is the fact that "xXx: State of the Union" employs the same method of action filming as many other Hollywood-movies of late. You know the method: "move the camera exceptionally close and shake it like if the camera-man was a spastic". I know that this is to hide the fact that Ice Cube doesn't know how to fight. Still it's incredibly irritating! Also the lack of logic is too evident at times. Like Ice Cube driving a sports car 360km/h on a train track with his tires torn off... Seriously.

Otherwise this had some potential. The technical quality is great, the movie looks really expensive. It has a lot of fun gadgets and crappy one-liners. And the speed of this movie is absolutely insane. Right from the beginning Lee Tamahori steps on it without ever looking back. So even though i can't say i really enjoyed this movie it was never boring, there is always something happening on screen. But the flaws in mostly the action department as well as the complete lack of logic disturbs the experience. It's still a lot better than the first movie though. I found the first one to be complete garbage, while this is still at least somewhat entertaining at times.

So in the end i think this "James Bond on steroids" will probably attract a lot of 15-yearolds that like when things keep moving and lights keep flashing. People who like to see a plot and at least some traces of logic might want to stay away though. It could have been the brainless action movie of the year, but it desperately needs some better action-directing for that. I rate it 3/10.

Much funnier than "Johnny English" - too bad it's not supposed to be a comedy.

[Victor Field · 2/10 · 2 May 2005]

"xXx2: The Next Level" (Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures changed the subtitle from "State of the Union" for international territories, for obvious reasons) comes from the director of "Die Another Day," which was terrible; producer Neal H. Moritz, whose last credited project was the dire (and thankfully now-cancelled) "Point Pleasant"; is a sequel to the dreadful "xXx"; and comes equipped with Samuel L. Jackson's stated dislike of making movies with rappers. On this showing, you can't blame him.

Trading in Vin Diesel (his character is written out by someone saying that he got killed in Bora Bora) for Ice Cube is no improvement; not only is he not the most expressive actor, but he's not that convincing in action (when he's being chased by Scott Speedman you just KNOW that Speedman would catch him like that (snaps fingers) in real life). In fairness to Mr. Cube, he's far from the only thing wrong with this; Simon Kinberg's screenplay seems not only to have been aimed at emotionally and intellectually stunted 13-year-olds but written by them as well, with the plot starting idiotically and continuing from there - the villainous Secretary of Defence played by Willem Dafoe is so pantomime villainous that when he makes a speech to Jackson you're surprised he doesn't laugh maniacally.

Suspending disbelief is one thing, but when you have a movie that expects people to believe that tanks can be handled like motorbikes... and which works in such daft plot turns as characters having their deaths faked just so they can be around for the climax (why not just kill them there?)... and that has a finale which depends on a car and a Presidential bullet train being able to fit on the same track despite the car being a compact if speedy sports car... in this case it's just impossible. Admittedly it doesn't help that said scenes are incompetently executed thanks to shockingly bad special effects and shoddy direction; some of the miniatures are glaringly obvious, and I particularly hope that lead effects house Industrial Light and Magic didn't do the CGI bullet train shots. And as for the way some of the shots go from film to what looks like video and back again...

The cast isn't much good either, although it's fun to see Peter Strauss as the President (in spite or because of his not sounding like he believes a word of this); Xzibit not only helps parts of this seem like "Pimp My Ride: The Movie" but he can't act, Dafoe is Special Guest Villain level, and Jackson phones it in. As for the female characters, Nona Gaye and Sunny Mabrey are pretty much defined by their cleavage and by the fact that one's good and the other (the one who looks like a cross between Nicolette Sheridan and Rachel Bilson) isn't. (The movie can't even be laddish properly; for some reason the sexiest woman in the movie (Masuimi Max, who plays Xzibit's girlfriend and who helps out with the robbery of the artillery-carrying cheese truck) isn't listed in the credits.) And the tiresome, crowbarred-in rap numbers don't help, certainly not compared to Marco Beltrami's score. (Ironically, at one point on hearing the female string quartet Bond our hero complains about the music; they are not to blame for the aural wrongs.)

"xXx2: Whatever" is so unexciting and so absurd that despite its stabs at relevance (our hero claims Dafoe is hatching "World War IV"), the only way to get through it is as a laugher; the sight of Ice Cube in a suit and tie (with umbrella!) is funnier than his intentional attempt at comedy later in the same scene. To make it worse, the last scene leaves the door wide open for a third movie... if it does happen, why not cast Scarlett Johansson or Charlotte Church as the new Triple X? It's not like realism is a key factor here.

First 40 mins SUCKED...The rest? Who knows.

[mch2k · 1/10 · 28 April 2005]

I walked out after the first 40 mins. It was just too much to take. I have a very high tolerance for "bad" films(I really dug the first xXx) and have only walked out three time before (Dungeons and Dragons, Bad Company, and The Musketeer). This ego driven piece of garbage was just intolerable. Every time Ice Cube (a man I quite like) mugged for the camera I cringed. And Willem Dafoe is SHAMELESS. After 40mins of excruciating dialogue and NO PLOT I had to leave. I'm sure this movie is about something and there's some cool stunts, I just wasn't about to waste the rest of my evening in hopes that the film got better.

So to be fair I can't really give this a review but I can say that life is short and sometimes we just gotta put our foot down and not take the crap the studios are feeding us. Because this was clearly a movie made on autopilot. Boo!

A horrible, horrible movie

[jack_thursby · 1/10 · 31 August 2005]

I don't mind mindless, escapist entertainment ... in fact, that's why I rented this DVD. Having seen the original XXX, I knew this wouldn't be that great of a movie, but I was counting on the action sequences to pull me through.

Well, apart from the beginning of the movie, XXX:State of the Union was a huge let down from even my small expectations. I guess the budget wasn't high enough for cool, exciting action sequences so they substituted old-school 80s style scenes for most of it, and suffice to say, there's a reason why most action movies don't do that stuff anymore -- it's boring. And since the action sequences are the only reason to watch something like this, and they suck, there's no real reason to give this movie even a moment's consideration.

The plot involves Darius Stone (Ice Cube) replacing Vin Diesel's character as the new, improved xXx and trying to foil a plot against the President of the United States. Darius proceeds to throw people around, impress the ladies, blow stuff up etc etc etc. The basic concept is a hip-hop James Bond, and while it sounds like a cool concept that you couldn't possibly mess up, no, these guys messed it up... its not Ice Cube's fault, he's no actor but I've seen him do better than this if the movie has a script and some direction.

At least Vin Diesel wasn't in this one

[techno_head · 1/10 · 8 May 2005]

I had no idea what State of the Union was going to be about when I went to see it last weekend. Once inside the movie theater I was told that it is a sequel to the movie XXX. Stunned that I was about to see a Vin Diesel (have nothing personal against him but I found that odds are high that if he is in a movie I won't like it, especially after the dreaded "Man Apart") movie I almost got up to leave. I was reassured, however, that he was not in it. Sitting through the first few minutes I saw names that I liked--Ice Cube and Samuel L. Jackson--and decided to give this one a shot. I didn't see the first XXX. I wish I hadn't seen the sequel. But I did. At the end I was wishing that Vin Diesel would come and save the day by shooting the characters of Willem Dafoe, Samuel L. Jackson, Ice Cube, the College Boy and the entire biker crew. To say this movie doesn't have a plot would be insulting movies which don't have a plot but at least attempt to have one. A tyrannical Secretary of Defense who wants to kill everyone, starting with the President, in order of succession so he can lead the country? A crew of DC thugs who come to the rescue of the country so they can live in a country where they are "free to jack cars"? This movie has the same effect on a viewers intellect as does junk food on his body. It kills it slowly. And with enough Whoppers and curly fries like this one one could become brain dead. Hollywood really should put warning labels on these prepackaged cookie-cutter action movies "This movie may kill your brain cells!"

Really better than the first part

[aronsteel · 6/10 · 29 August 2017]

It was an improvement if compared to the first xXx. the action was better than the first one and also the graphics were better. Though the story line was not that great just like the previous one. They should really work on their script creating skills. The start was amazing and was looking that it can be a good movie but as we came nearer and nearer to end the movie started getting worse and worse. Whoever wrote it might have to do lot of editing for the ending and doesn't look that he was able to find the perfect one he was looking for.

Overall by experience of watching it was average. I hope they work on making a better one. As the concept on which the series is based is not that bad. It just need a good script.

Boring tyrecommercial

[juho-ollila · 1/10 · 2 May 2005]

I had not seen the first xXx movie when I went to watch this so I basically had no idea what was xxx all about, except for guns and high-speed cars of course. I really wish I hadn't gone to the movies to see this flick, it was really terrible.

For me it was kind of hard to get a grip from the beginning because there was nothing that would have explained who were the main characters and what was their goal and so on. This left the characters really shallow and the dialogue between the characters was something out of a bum disco.

Ice-cube cannot act. Really. He is like a stiff crash test dummy on the screen provided with the fact that he can blurt out some lines. And oh yes, the one-liners. Horrible, I mean the one-liners were probably the worst that I have ever heard, almost ripped my ears off. I don't know how good a rapper Ice cube is but I think it would suit him better than acting. What I can't but wonder is that why Samuel L. Jackson ever agreed to do this film.

And then the aluminium rims. Almost every scene begins with the filming of shiny and bright rims. All in all I think the whole point of the movie was to advertise rims. This film should be buried somewhere along with such films as Battlefield: Earth and Dungeons & Dragons.

A step down from the first movie and a terrible sequel movie

[ivo-cobra8 · 27 August 2017]

*SPOILERS*

This is a step down from the first movie, I am fan of the first xXx (2002) film this movie is so bad and so stupid! I am so tired of USA and conspiracy about their presidents I am so sick of this movies! Why couldn't this movie be original and had a better plot and better story? Seriously I don't like this movie. I bought the trilogy on Blu-ray I have it in my collection but this movie is a big step down. No one from the first film come back except Samuel L. Jackson! I have nothing but a respect towards the actor I like him I like his performance as Agent Augustus Eugene Gibbons he is really good in this movie. The movie is a peace of s*** but he is good he is really awesome.

I don't like Ice Cube in this movie I don't like his jokes or he's acting he can't even speak properly. He acts like some gangster in her. He is a terrible actor and awful rapper, I don't like him.

The action in my opinion is just poor, the plot is stupid and poor and used already.

This film has none action sequences it is not a spy movie like the first one had. I hated this film because they killed of Xander Cage in this one that makes me so much angry now I hate it even more. The new xXx is terrible Jesus the CGI is terrible in here.

The director for this film was Lee Tamahori the guy from James Bond 007 Die Another Day that was so awful this movie is awful action film. I don't see this movie as action film and Die Another Day was the worst James Bond film.

I don't like black joke movies I don't like it Ice Cube can't properly speak. Willem Dafoe is really terrible he always plays the bad guys but in this movie he is the weakest bad guy I ever saw. This movie has so horrendous CGI and Jesus this movie f***** sucks it is un real and is so bad.

Scott Speedman is in this one from Underworld films first he is the bad guy and then he is the good guy this movie is so rushed really and it makes no sense. The first xXx was a grounded reality action junkie movie it was fantastic and it is my favorite Vin Diesel film this one really sinks lower from the first one.

Pretty much this movie sucks I don't have much to say anymore but score get's F 1/10 the only good in this was Samuel L. Jackson the rest was sh***. Everyone in this movie was not likable. I did not even cheer for these characters I just didn't care.

Please stop making conspiracy movie about US presidents I am so sick o it. US president is always the target in USA and everyone want's to be the president why Hollywood makes such a bad movies this days? Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down I am so tired of these movies and this conspiracy theories used in the movies.

This movie is awful avoid like a plague at any cost.

Solid action

[kalstoykov · 8/10 · 1 March 2021]

If you love action movies, you will enjoy this one. Entertaining and fast-paced. Don't bother to read the other reviews, be your own judge.

Action-packed!!!

[darkstar_ae · 7/10 · 16 May 2005]

From the creators of "Die Another Day"! XXX: The Next Level as released on the Philippines.

Having said that, it wouldn't be a surprise that this movie was just one action scene after another. Although a lot of negative feedbacks are here about the plot and the characters this movie is sure to satisfy the typical action movie fanatic. True to the reputation of that aforementioned James Bond movie there never was a dull moment in the movie. The pace and the tension of this movie just keeps the story flowing with slight stops to help you catch your breath and ingest the movie if aren't trashing it already.

I admit that upon seeing Ice Cube as the one to play the role of the new Triple X I was skeptical about his capabilities. Having the typical role of a bad-ass, the attitude and situations really suit him. I wasn't totally disappointed. However, it was sort of a plot hole for them to consider Xander Cage as being less of a character than Darius Stone. I actually didn't like that idea. I'm still confused whether their mention of the previous Triple X being killed as a cover up or a fact. Hey, this is a gov't agency! One can never assume.

As usual for most action movies this is another marketing scheme for brand products from Ice Cube's backpack to his gadgets and, of course, the hot cars, which I admit are the top of the line.

If you're just another movie fanatic after a good rush this movie is for you - bang for your buck. But for the discriminating movie fan this will hardly satisfy you. I actually liked this movie regardless of the whole lame plot. Hey, you can't please everyone!

Best comedy of the year......for all the wrong reasons

[Pyromk1 · 1/10 · 7 May 2005]

If you're thinking of seeing this, stop just a minute. What could you do with the two hours of your life that this is likely to take up? You could write a short story, you could do a drawing, you could father some children or you could remove your own intestines with a rusty spoon. All of these activities would be a lot more worthwhile than seeing xXx 2: State of the union (or :The Next Level if you live in Blighty like me). I went to see this with high hopes that it would be another xXx... A mindless American James Bond Movie just without the class (sorry if i offend anyone by that, but thats is essentially what xXx was). But I was so wrong.The film opened promisingly, showing something that wasn't what it seemed, but despite this being a film about setups and double crosses that was possibly the best plot twist in the whole film. The film rapidly descends into cliché after cliché (the script seems to have been created by entering lots of clichéd lines into a computer and programming it to spit them out randomly). The plot is riddled with holes which leave you wondering what just happened and was it significant, then later on you find out that it wasn't. In terms of acting Ice Cube is brilliant....at saying every line in exactly the same way. The great Samuel L gives an average performance but he could have just telephoned his lines in and it wouldn't really have made much difference. Willem Dafoe give us a generic bad guy performance. Scott Speedman does quite a good job as the investigative NSA agent despite being dangled from a helicopter, but this role is unlikely to get him very far in terms of his career. Lets get down to the important part now. If its an action movie, it needs good and original action sequences right...not if you're working on xXx2. Basically, things go boom and guns go bang, but we're not given anything really new here and there aren't really enough credible action sequences to keep the audience hooked. The train sequence towards the end of the film looks terrible, like something out of a Playstation game. The CGI falls flat on its face making the films action sequences loose credibility. one thing that confused me was who this was aimed at. by having a Black main character and featuring lots of black characters I thought maybe it could be trying to get a larger black audience. But nearly every black character is a stereotype of black 'Gangsta' culture. There is a line where xXx says "I was born looking guilty" but this is lost when the rest of the black characters are portrayed as crooks and thugs... in positive light! what kind of thing is this movie trying to say? I just gave up trying to read into it as I realised, there is nothing to read into, it is a very shallow, badly written, badly acted, badly produced action yarn. So bad in fact that I was actually laughing most of the way through... Best comedy of the year.

Worst ever movie :(

[sumeet · 1/10 · 10 May 2005]

I hate writing such comments about any movie but after seeing this movie last week i coudnt stop myself. It was worst ever movie i saw ... nothing +ve in whole movie. After watching xXx couple of years back i thought it will try to bridge the gap between xXx as a character and other heroes like James bond but it ruined the image of xXx totally . There is no point in discussing the plot and acting ... I don't know why the script was left in open to move on its own .. there was nothing special tried in whole movie save for first 2-3 mins which gave a fake illusion that this movie might do well .. all the ultramodern gadgets displayed in first sequence disappeared at the very same moment ... Sorry folks this was too bad even to describe

Derivative, uninspired nonsense but will please the male Saturday night crowd that it is clearly aimed at

[bob the moo · 2 May 2005]

Someone is targeting the old unit that Agent Augustus Gibbons used to belong to under the command of George Deckert, now Secretary for Defence. Half the unit are dead, Triple X agent Cage is dead and Gibbons' underground base has been infiltrated by a highly trained team from which he barely escaped. With his gadgets expert in tow, Gibbons turns to a new Triple X agent to help him fight this threat – former comrade and now life prisoner, Darius Stone. Busting Stone out of prison, Gibbons arms him and helps him start his new mission by uncovering hidden information; as the danger increases, so does the pace and all clues lead to something very sinister indeed.

The production company credits right at the start of the film proclaim this as an "Original Films Production", a claim that I thought highly ironic since it then plunges into a pre-credit sequence that is as genre-specific as they come, a title sequence that is a clear Bond rip off and a film that delivers nothing more than the genre basics. Taking the lead from the first film, the script kills off Xander Cage with barely a mention and moves on to the new agent. Discussion of the plot is pointless cause the whole affair is nonsense with logic holes so large that you could drive a souped up car through it. Those looking to this for a story that they can get into will be sorely disappointed as the film throws its energy into noise, explosions and typically OTT action scenes. To me and many viewers this will be just annoying hollow spectacle but to the target audience this is all they require and xXx2 does do it noisily enough to satisfy them.

The action is as stupid and illogical as the plot itself but it is noisy, stupid, big and bold and is enjoyable on that level; it is a shame that it lacks any actual tension or excitement but the noise will be enough for the target audience. At times it all gets a bit much and just looks plain silly but it never really stops moving that long so the next boom or bang is only ever minutes away, preventing you turning your brain on. The attempts at character and story are the worst – the moments with the girls really slows things down without adding even titillation value, while the potentially brave political stance made by the drawing of the president is just lost and wasted. Ice Cube picks up the mantle and delivers a one-note performance where he basically sneers his way across the screen; he lacks any sort of charisma here and could have been any old actor (something I think those hoping to make a franchise hope will be the case). Jackson is just collecting the cash so his bad performance can be ignored but Dafoe is a terrible bad guy considering he has done it well in other films. Xzibit doesn't do much but will draw humour from the MTV teenage audience thanks to his "Pimp my Ride" personae being called on. Mabrey and Gayle are basically just eye candy, with breasts squeezed and lifted in every scene – they can't act and don't have any chemistry with the basic Cube. The support cast do lots of running around with guns or diving away form bangs but nobody gets close to a performance.

Overall this is a noisy genre flick, nothing more and nothing less. Those claiming how awful it is forget that there are people who don't want art films, emotional films or engaging dramas, they just want to whoop and holler as things get blowing up in fancy-looking ways. For them, and them alone, this film will do the job as it provides effects, stunts and noise. However those looking for even the most basic characters, plot, tension, excitement or development will find themselves yawning through this noisy cross between a hip-hop video and a video game.

cookie cutter plot

[kriticalreview · 4/10 · 13 April 2005]

Saw a screening of it today,...and probably wished I didn't agree to watch it,.. Anyways, I don't even know where to begin so here goes: Plot/action: The usual cliché plot line that involves government agency coverups, bad blood, and conspiracies to kill the President. I thought the first 'XXX' was OK, but the plot of 'XXX2' is so unoriginal and narrow-minded it makes the first one seem like an epic. The action and stunts aren't even imaginative,.. seems like even money can't buy a good movie because even the fight scenes are uninspiring,..kind of reminds me of Steven Seagal movies where you're even hoping that the main character gets his ass kicked Characters: Ice Cube playing his usual badass self, although the release of this movie is in such close proximity to 'are we there yet?' that it almost seems like him and Vin Diesel (The Pacifier) have teamed up secretly to harm America with such bad movies. Overall, I think that Ice Cube's character lacks the edge of Vin Diesel in the first installment. The other characters in this movie including the main badguy (Willem Dafoe) are cardboard thin leading you to wonder as the movie goes along if the plot development will be just as bad.

Overall Entertainment Value: 4/10,..I feel that the movie would have been better if they eased up on the whole government agency conspiracy aspect and focused more on stunts, which made the first one much more easy to watch

Puhleeze

[bernie-122 · 1/10 · 20 September 2006]

This film is positive proof that the Hollywood Establishment regards the movie-going public as mindless fools. There is no other way to explain this release of what is surely one of the worst films of all time.

Watching Ice Cube trying to behave like Vin Diesel was just so embarrassingly pathetic, it has probably dealt a fatal blow to whatever acting career he might have otherwise had. Even if he could act, his pudgy physique is just ludicrously inappropriate for an action hero.

On the other hand, even without Ice Cube this would still have been a terrible film. So perhaps casting Ice Cube is really a good move, because at least they've got the fan base, who will love it no matter how bad it is. It would be hardly surprising for Vin Diesel to turn it down after 10 seconds perusing the script. I don't know if he was offered the part or not, but he'd be crazy to have anything to do with it.

What I can't understand is why Samuel Jackson allowed himself to be associated with this career-torpedoing piece of trash. It would seem he was aware it was a stinker, because he was obviously just going through the motions.

So, the poor viewer doesn't even have the 'so bad it's good' option, as with some of Van Damme's offerings; this is just 'so bad it's woeful'. Van Damme has a presence that lets you enjoy the performance even knowing the film is awful. Mr. Cube has no presence whatever and all you can do is wonder what the hell he's doing there.

Somehow we, the movie-going public, have to inform Hollywood that we are not willing to have our intelligence thus insulted. Poor casting, direction and screenplay cannot be compensated by a big explosion every 3 minutes.

So, I think I can fairly put this as one of the all-time worst films I've ever seen. Maybe nearly as bad as 'The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra'. One star is about 10 too many.

The Worst Movie Ever

[oztrailyan_guy · 1/10 · 12 May 2005]

I went to the cinema last night and much to my disgust my friends wanted to watch xxx2. I had tried to talk them out of it by saying it will have no decent acting and/or a very poor storyline. THAT WAS AN UNDERSTATEMENT! This is by far the worst movie i have ever seen, It sucked and i want 2hours of my life back. The storyline (if thats what you call it) was very, very, very poor. It was a "B" no i would say "C" grade movie with an "A" grade budget. The hero was a fat African American who thought he was Lord Of The Earth and did not even fit the stereotypical action star genre that i had expected. I swear this guy has no self esteem problems, he is so much up himself i laughed my way through the entire movie. I cannot believe the extreme stupidity of this film. As i sit there in the cinema person after person was walking out, not to mention the laughing at of corny and serious lines. I would never recommend this movie and i believe that it would not even be suitable for Midday Television.

One of the worst films of all time.

[InvisibleSwordsman · 1/10 · 19 July 2005]

Compared to this mind-numbingly awful piece of dreck, the weak first film was a masterpiece. It is genuinely shocking that Hollywood was able to produce a film this utterly inept and mindless. The writing (the screenplay is by Simon Kinberg, who somehow also wrote the excellent "Mr. and Mrs. Smith") and acting are dreadful - not just from non-actors like Ice Cube, but even from Oscar nominees like Willem Dafoe and Samuel L. Jackson. The plot is incomprehensible, and the CGI is so poor that some of the action scenes look like "Tron".

The one redeeming feature is the fact that the film is frequently, unintentionally, laugh-out-loud hilarious. Lines like "I need to speak to this man alive" abound.

Action sequel swaps integrity for excitement

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 6 December 2016]

I wasn't the world's biggest fan of the original xXx, mainly because I can't stand Vin Diesel, the biggest plank of wood to grace a modern cinema screen. When I heard he wouldn't be returning for this sequel, I was overjoyed; however, this film is much the same as the last one, and not in a good way. It's cheesy, preposterous and frequently unbelievable; if you don't mind these things you'll probably enjoy it. I know I did.

Ice Cube is the miscast anti-hero of the film, and to be honest he's not a very interesting character; then again, his scripted lines are all cheesy. His only real outstanding scene is the bit where he breaks out of prison, where you get the feeling he's a real powerhouse. He kind of fades away after that. The rest of the film follows a pseudo James Bond-style plot, with lots of chases and stormings of buildings; there's a neat speedboat bit, some cool car chases and more. The flimsy plot involves a corrupt Secretary of Defence attempting to take over the White House with his own private army, and Willem Dafoe pops up, typecast once again as the sneering villain – but then he is good at it.

This film's action pushes the boundaries of the low certificate, and there are some really brutal fight sequences with cracking sound effects – the kind you hear in a violent Jet Li flick. Samuel L. Jackson has always been good value for money, and he's given a slightly bigger role in this sequel, although he's still not in it much; still, he makes his character imposing and cool, as always. The ending, with the kidnapped president on the bullet train, is even cheesier than the ending of UNDER SIEGE 2! The CGI effects of the train and car make this look like a computer game, similar to weak moments in I, ROBOT. It's still fun, though; just disengage your brain, as, like TRANSPORTER 2, this is a modern Hollywood blockbuster that swaps integrity for excitement.

Triple crap

[jimmyjacob · 2/10 · 6 May 2005]

I got some good news and bad news...

The good news first ... XXX - The Next Level has it all: Fast cars, gorgeous babes, blazing buildings, runaway trains, seductive vamps and a radical Defence Secretary who wants to overthrow the US Government.

The bad news? It also has clichéd dialogues, unbelievable fight sequences and a sloppy storyline that threatens to nullify all the positive aspects of the movie.

Samuel L Jackson plays Augustus Gibbons, the survivor of an attack on the National Security Agency's top-secret headquarters, and a top propagandist of truth, justice and the American way (yeesh!).

And Ice Cube is Darius Stone, Gibbons' only chance at stopping Secretary of Defence George Decket (Willem Dafoe) from overthrowing the US government and taking over the country.

The other two characters on the scene are FBI agent Kyle Steele (Scott Speedman), who considers Stone a dangerous criminal, and Lola (Nona Gaye), a former flame (Ice Cube's) who owns a high-end car dealership.

The movie's ending is a predictable no-brainer; and sadly, so is the entire movie. A pity, considering that it features quite a few top-notch actors. Peter Strauss plays the hip American President, complete with a vocabulary pulsing with f-words and 2pac lines. And he does a good job, considering he does not have much of a job to do, anyway.

Ice Cube plays Spidey - jumping from tall buildings, thumping characterless baddies and romancing the gals, all the while yapping in a heavy ghetto accent. His stunts are hardly anything to crow about, unless your idea of entertainment is watching tubby rappers jump from skyscraper to skyscraper. Makes you wish he had stuck to fighting with big rubber anacondas instead...

The fight sequences are, simply put, indigestible. And you would have to take them with more than just a pinch of salt to get that bad taste off your mouth. But then comes the silver lining - Willem Dafoe. He excels in his role of the cold, calculating foreign secretary, just waiting for his chance to grab the juicy morsel. However, you wonder how someone who had acted in good movies like Platoon and The English Patient could stoop to performing in a mediocre silver screen hide n' seek game.

But make no mistake ... XXX - The Next Level, with all its clichéd dialogues and corny jokes, could prove to be an entertainer - provided you leave your brain at home.

XXX has to save the day against arch enemy the US Government!

[ifhedieshedies · 10/10 · 21 February 2008]

Hot on the heels of O'Shea Jackson's last epic (the ultimate actioneer that is Torque!)comes XXX-The Next Level.This time XXX has to have more attitude and be more dangerous, hence the casting of O'Shea Jackson(Ice cube to most of the world).

Without going into detail (i wouldn't want to spoil this film for anyone) this film is a cinematic masterpiece. With Ice Cube using his full range of acting skills he manages to evoke emotions not felt since the opening sequence of Star Wars - A New Hope. What we have is a roller-coaster of a film with action, romance, comedy and more action.

Mr Cube is supported by talent such as Samuel L Jackson , Willem Defoe and Xzibit so no expense was spared by director Lee Tamahori. With a script written by Simon Kinberg (who has gone on to write scripts for smaller films such as Jumper and Mr & Mrs Smith) we have a complex yet enjoyable plot to follow.

All in all i can not recommend this movie enough, no words that i write can describe what a masterpiece this film is. This will surely go down in history as a classic alongside greats such as Shawshank, Godfather and All About the Benjamins (Damn!!) Please watch and enjoy!!

Better than expected

[lajospn · 7/10 · 21 May 2005]

I went in to watch this after reading how terribly brainless and low brow everybody said it was. Well, I got what I expected but strangely that wasn't that bad after all. Yes, the action is cartoonish, the one-liners are cheesy but I already switched to James Bond mode so it didn't bother me the least. In fact, compared to some James Bond movies the plot does make a little sense. I don't say that it's L.A. Confidental, but way better than Die Another Day, for example. As for Ice Cube: I think he was cool. I don't know why everybody complains about he not being able to act. What's there to act? He's a Navy Seal. He likes to act tough and cool. It looks ridiculous? Sure, but it's at least entertaining. I don't mind the women being bombshells, cars being beautiful, explosions over that top, I mean what's wrong with these in a James Bond style movie? The ending is bit of a let down, but the rest is worth the buck.

Better than I expected

[sarastro7 · 5/10 · 21 May 2005]

Notice how cool it has become to say "I want those two hours of my life back!!" after having seen a really bad movie? Well, only stupid people use that line. You know what you're going into, folks! If you really wanted those two hours (not to mention your money) back, might you not have shown a bit of critical sense before deciding to watch something you *knew* probably would have no redeeming values? Sigh. Well, your life, your problem.

xXx2 was not a great movie, nor even a good one, but I went into it with the expectations of something really terrible, and it wasn't that bad at all. It was pretty much as good as I could have dared hope for. A lot of people knock the original movie, but I think it's a cult classic, worthy of an 8 rating. I had no illusions that the sequel would touch that level, and indeed it did not. For one thing, Ice Cube is nowhere near as cool as Vin Diesel.

But the whole anti-authority thing saves it. I don't know about you, but I think it's a hoot to see a bunch of street-wise Black hustlers hijack a tank and blow the lid off the white house to save a President who's probably far more liberal than any president the U.S. has ever had. This is what art and entertainment is for, people. Progressive messages, to show us that a better way is possible. This movie had heart. And it had the only true kind of patriotism: the anti-fanatic kind.

And the action and SFX, while frequently silly, did what they were supposed to: entertain.

5 out of 10.

xXx

[0U · 8 March 2020]

Hollywood should know by now that if you dumb down a dumb film in the sequel you are heading for disappointment, There was lots of action and explosions but I found myself very bored and fading in and out of the film, The dialogue and acting was even worse this time round, The story was so predictable I had no love for it, I didn't mind too much that Ice Cube took the main role but he does nothing to make this a good movie, The first was goodish because it was dumb fun but this one is just dull and unimaginative.