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Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Peter Strauss
Director: Lee Tamahori
Rated PG-13
Sony Pictures
xXx State Of The Union almost lives up to its predecessor. Ice Cube (Darius Stone) hasn’t got the acting chops of Vin Diesel and if possible has less of a script to work with. Instead of a skater/snowboarder/Bond type film the slugs who put together XXX State Of The Union tried to create more of a “mission impossible” kind of feeling for the second XXX movie. While bringing back Samuel L. Jackson to reprise his role as Augustus Gibbons the second movie that is the only element other than the title which returns to this franchise. The biggest let down though is the premise that there is now a sector of the government running a triple X program. The complete lack of creative effort that went into creating this sequel would be stunning if it were not so common place when sequels to successful movies are shot.
If you are willing to suspend disbelief to believe that the U.S. government has a deep secret cadre within the intelligence community dedicated to the overthrow of the government that is one thing. As a fan of the original XXX you may be willing to believe that after the success of the first XXX they did create a department XXX. You may even be willing to buy the chunky somewhat flabby Ice Cube as a former navy seal who having spent 9 years in jail is still capable of running mile after mile at full speed all the while fighting and winning over the best of the best the U.S. military and secret service has to offer. But can you really believe that the State of the Union address would not be called off once stuff started getting blown up around the capitol building? Even a movie this sloppy should have some internal consistency.
More incredulous – if that is possible – is the idea that a group of street thugs who spend their life stealing cars for a living could not only take over heavy army vehicles and operate them without issue but also that they would be more than a match for the marines and special forces stationed around the nations capitol. My willingness to suspend disbelief only goes so far and it does not encompass the idea that gang bangers could annihilate the U.S. military without so much as losing one of their own.
If you are willing to put up with some so-so acting, lightning fast pace, stilted dialogue, LOTS of gunfire and explosions and pedestrian direction then you might consider this movie as a second movie rental on a rainy day. Otherwise give it a pass.