xXx: State of the Union (2005)

Director:

Lee Tamahori

Writers (WGA):

Rich Wilkes (characters)
Simon Kinberg (written by)

Release Date:

29 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Prepare for the next level

Plot:

Darius Stone, a new agent in the XXX program, is sent to Washington, DC to defuse a power struggle amongst national leaders.

Plot Keywords:

Washington D.C. | NSA | Helicopter | Violence | Bullet Train

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ice Cube	...	Darius Stone / XXX
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Agent Augustus Gibbons
Willem Dafoe	...	General George Deckert
Scott Speedman	...	Agent Kyle Steele
Peter Strauss	...	President James Sanford
Xzibit	...	Zeke
Michael Roof	...	Agent Toby Lee Shavers
Sunny Mabrey	...	Charlie Mayweather
Nona Gaye	...	Lola Jackson
John G. Connolly	...	Lt. Alabama 'Bama' Cobb
Ramon De Ocampo	...	Agent Meadows (as Ramón De Ocampo)
Barry Sigismondi	...	Bull
Michael Don Evans	...	Conductor
David Rountree	...	Agent
Ned Schmidtke	...	General Jack Pettibone

Also Known As:

xXx 2: The Next Level (Australia) (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title) (Malaysia: English title) (UK)
xXx²: The Next Level (Singapore: English title) (UK)
Cold Circle & Intersection (Philippines: English title) (review title)
xXx Squared (USA) (working title)
xXx² (USA) (working title)
xXx²: State of the Union (USA) (working title)
xXx: The Next Level (Philippines: English title)
xXx 2: Estado de emergencia (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Triple X 2: Estado de emergencia (Spain) [es]
xXx 2 (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
xXx 2 - Estado de Emergência (Brazil) [pt]
xXx 2 - The Next Level (Germany) [de]
xXx 2 - The Next Level (Denmark) [da]
xXx 2 - The Next Level (Norway) [no]
xXx 2: Новый уровень (Russia) [ru]
xXx 2: The Next Level (Italy) [it]
xXx 2: The Next Level (Netherlands) [nl]
xXx 2: The Next Level (Sweden) [sv]
xXx 2: The Next Level (Denmark) [da]
xXx 2: The Next Level (Finland) [fi]
xXx²: Estado de emergencia (Venezuela) [es]
xXx²: The Next Level (France) [fr]
xXx: L'état de l'union (Canada: French title) [fr]
xXx: The Next Level (Finland) [fi]
xXx: Uus tase (Estonia) [et]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence and some language.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Canada:14A | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:18SG | Malaysia:U (re-rating) | France:U | Malaysia:U (cinema release) | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Ontario) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A (cut) | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG (original rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

To build a so-called "stealth tank" for one of the sequences in the movie, the production designers took a used truck chassis, shortened it and placed a Freightliner diesel truck engine onto it. "Stealth" panels were then placed on top of it to give the tank its unique look. Tracks were taken from another piece of heavy equipment and fitted onto the "tank". Even a double barrel turret was constructed that could counter rotate.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the final chase between the Cobra car and the train, the speed indicators are frequently desynchronized: when the car is at 240-260 mph on the road (about 10 meters behind), the train is trying to reach 190 mph. Due to the speed difference, the car should have overtake the train more than 10 times in this sequence.

Quotes:

Darius Stone: The fate of the free world in the hands of a bunch of hustlers and thieves.
Agent Kyle Steele: Why should tonight be any different?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Superbad (2007)

Soundtrack:

Messiah

Quite enjoyable

I don't see why people are giving this film really bad reviews. Yes, it is fairly ridiculous and yes, the plot is very poor. But that's not the reason this film got made. The makers' knew that this story wasn't going to rival 'The Godfather' or 'Star Wars'. It was made for pure entertainment and escapism.

No one moans that James Bond isn't realistic, do they? Of course not, because it is great fun. Now this wasn't as good as many Bond films, if any, but it did its job and kept me entertained. Ice Cube is no better than Vin Diesel as xXx, but not much worse either, in my opinion. It has a fairly decent supporting cast, mainly Samuel L Jackson and Willem Dafoe. They do their jobs too. Nothing special, but adequate enough.

Put simply, if you're looking for an Oscar-winning script and performances, then rent out 'Goodfellas'. If you're just looking for some escapism and silly entertainment with big men and big guns, tank chases, fight scenes and lots of cars, then give this a try.

6/10 from me.