Analysis
XXX director Rob Cohen seems to be a man attempting to make a big name for himself as the new action movie king. From seeing him do his thing in several 'on the set' interviews you can tell he has a real zeal for his craft that he attempts to infuse into his other colleagues. He likes the big set pieces that go so well with action films and tries to make them look as spectacular as they can possibly be and XXX is no exception to this. Rob worked previously with Vin Diesel in the 2001 street racer, The Fast and the Furious and obviously see's the all action hero potential in his muscular leading man. Everything seems to be in place for one hell of an adrenalin fueled ride...

So why is it that I feel like I have just watched a second rate spy movie that seem's to do everything it can to imitate James Bond but without the charm. The films story is nothing ground breaking, which is to be expected I guess for an action film, but the parts that should peak the interest levels such as the big bang scenes just never get the pulse racing enough. We have a few great moments like sky diving from the seat of a falling corvette and jumping a dirt bike over an exploding building but these are the main courses for the film rather than the appetiser and just don't seem enough to fill you up. It is all presented well and the overall flow of the film is pretty good but the running time just seems too long by around 15-20 minutes and, had it been shorter, would have been a pretty exciting film without several outwardly unnecessary padding scenes that do nothing for the viewer.

One other point that needs to be made is the acting ability of Vin Diesel. In the sci-fi, horror film Pitch Black everything in the garden was rosy for our Vin, he spoke very little but his imposing stature made for a much more interesting view of his character. Now that he is fast becoming the new Arnie or Stallone a few cracks are appearing in his performances, what I mean is his line delivery is weak and unconvincing and when it comes time to deliver those killer one liners that are so important to a wise-assed action veteran, he falls a little flat. I guess time will tell if he improves in this area but it dampened some of the important dialogue in this film.

Key Area	Rating (out of 5)	Comment
Action		The action is good but it always seems a little detached from the main storyline. The whole scene that see's Vin Diesels character wake up in Columbia and the resulting fight he has with a drug lords small army is good but seems thrown in just for an excuse to show a little mayhem.
Tension		Gripping during some of the action segments but never tooth snapping. Even the climax that see's Vin and Asia chasing a missile laden speedboat, which should have been the highlight of anxiety, hardly registered on my heart beat monitor.
Violence/ Gore		The always reliable fight scenes produce a few violent moments but nothing to dramatic or bloody.
Bare Flesh	NONE	I'm not sure if I saw bare boobs or not, but if I did they must have been brief and defiantly didn't belong to Miss Argento.
Plot		Think about any James Bond movie plot and you can pretty much summarise what XXX is about. An undercover agent fighting the bad guys who in turn are trying to hold the world to ransom.

Verdict Now a days action films have to be smarter than this one. If they aint smart then they have to be kick ass original full of adrenalin pumping segments that make people want to be the hero. XXX is neither smart nor is it original but it does have a few moments that will peak the curiosity levels. Watch this if you are a Vin fan or love your extreme sports.

Movie Pictures (Click picture to enlarge)