I kinda like Vin Diesel. I wasn’t really a big fan of “xXx”, which was one of the flicks that made him a big star. I rather preferred his earlier work as the voice of the “The Iron Giant”, and even more so that of Riddick in the two “Pitch Black” films. I even thought he was kind of funny in “The Pacifier.” Not Arnold Schwarzenegger funny, but funny nonetheless. When the time came to shot a sequel to “xXx”, Diesel chose not to return, I believe, because he wanted to stretch his acting muscles into other types of films. So, who would be the first person that comes to mind that might possibly carry a whole new “xXx” film? Perhaps The Rock, maybe? Or might they have chosen some brand new actor in the hopes of grooming the ‘next big thing?’ Nope. The studio opted to grab… are you ready for this…. Ice Cube. That’s right. Ice Cube. Resident thug and rap artist (and I use the term lightly) turned actor (again using the term lightly). Unfortunately the last really good acting job we got out of Mr. Cube was in 1991’s “Boyz ’n’ the Hood.”

In “xXx: State of the Union”, Cube stars as Darius Stone, a military guy imprisoned for turning rogue. When the fate of the world is once again threatened and Xander Cage is out of commission, Stone is broken out of prison and set up to save the day. His target… former Navy Seal and current Secretary of Defense General George Deckert (Willem DaFoe) whose goal seems to be to take out the President. (And I don’t mean to dinner, either…) That’s about the whole of it. The film is moves at a breakneck speed, which includes all the trappings of a bond film. Chases and explosions abound in a mind numbing cacophony of stunt work and CGI special effects.

I won’t say it is as good or not as good as the previous film. All I can say is that it is more of the same, with different actors. The direction I feel, wasn’t quite as good, which really surprised me sine it was directed by Lee Tamahori. He was behind the last Bond film, “Die Another Day”, which wasn’t the best Bond film, but still pretty darn good.

Despite the film’s shortcomings, the DVD for “xXx: State of the Union” does deliver a terrific transfer, which on our big screen really made the difference between enjoying it or… not. The big splashy special effects scenes were punctuated by the great video and audio, which in both cases, really filled the room.

Sony / Columbia Tristar also put quite the load of extra features on this new DVD release, much more than I expected. The least of these are the two commentaries, which I found to be rather dull in both cases. What I liked better was the Behind the Scenes feature a whole lot more. It gave you the opportunity to really see what it took to make the film including a lot of the greater challenges. It also has several interviews, the most interesting being that with DaFoe. He made a few interesting comments that might cause some to question his politics, though I agreed with him wholeheartedly. There are also three very interesting featurettes on the film, which include an interview with Ice Cube that is… well… illuminating to say the least. Someone definitely has a high opinion of themselves…. The others break down the Bullet Train sequence and a look at the change of the style of weaponry from the last movie to this one. Add to this three deleted scenes and you have pretty well-rounded DVD release for a mediocre film.

Don’t get me wrong. “xXx: State of the Union” is not a bad movie at all, it just suffers a little from some bad casting choices and the occasionally bad dialogue. If you’re looking for some an old fashioned ‘check your brain at the door’ type of action film, this is definitely the movie for you.

Directed by: Lee Tamahori
Starring: Ice Cube, Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Peter Strauss
Extras: Filmmaker’s Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Visual Effects Commentary, “From Convict to Hero: The Making of XXX: State of the Union”, Top Secret Military Warehouse, XXX According to Ice Cube, Bullet Train Breakdown
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 7/26/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (For Sequences of Intense Action and Some Language)
Website

We'll give xXx: State of the Union a C.