xXx: State of the Union

xXx: State of the Union

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Lee Tamahori
Produced by Neal H. Moritz
Arne Schmidt
Written by Simon Kinberg
Based on Characters created 
by Rich Wilkes
Starring
Music by Marco Beltrami
Cinematography David Tattersall
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • April 29, 2005 (2005-04-29)
Running time
 101 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $87 million[2]
Box office $71 million[3]

xXx: State of the Union (released as xXx: The Next Level outside the United States and Canada), is a 2005 action film directed by Lee Tamahori. It is a sequel to the 2002 film xXx (pronounced "Triple X"). The film was produced by Revolution Studios for Columbia Pictures.

Vin Diesel and Rob Cohen, the lead actor and director of the original, had signed onto this film before xXx had opened, but both dropped out as Diesel had to work on The Pacifier while Cohen was busy making Stealth; Cohen remained as an executive producer. Ice Cube took over the lead role as the new xXx and Tamahori was brought in to direct following the huge commercial success of the James Bond film Die Another Day which he directed.

Two different scripts were made for this film, and the one written by Simon Kinberg was selected. The other script featured a radically different plot, possibly serving as the basis for another sequel. State of the Union under-performed at the box office, and was criticized heavily by critics (the first installment's reception was mixed)—mainly for the poor performance of its star, illogical story, and overuse of CGI-influenced visual effects for most of the action sequences as opposed to live-action stunts being filmed. As of January 2014, a sequel titled xXx: The Return of Xander Cage featuring Vin Diesel was in development.

Plot

In Virginia, a rancher discovers dead bodies over his farm and decides to investigate. As he finds more bodies, he is killed by one of the assailants himself. Meanwhile, attackers use special explosives to break into an NSA bunker beneath the horse farm. There, NSA Agent Augustus Gibbons fends off the attackers before barely escaping himself. Sergeant Alabama "Bama" Cobb is later revealed to be responsible for the attack on the bunker. After escaping the attack, Toby Shavers, Gibbons's assistant, informs that, with the attack on the NSA bunker, Cobb also had Xander Cage, the XXX agent, assassinated in Bora Bora. To find a new substitute, Gibbons meets with Lt. Darius Stone (Ice Cube), a former U.S Navy SEAL officer, who is currently serving 9 of his 20 years sentence in Leavenworth for disobeying orders and breaking General George Deckert's jaw, who is now a rogue Secretary of Defense.

Later, Gibbons poses as Stone's lawyer and makes a deal with him in prison, and then makes an escape plan; Stone makes a daring escape. Stone meets with Zeke (Xzibit), his old partner in crime, and Lola Jackson, (Nona Gaye), his ex-girlfriend, who now runs an exotic car shop, and stays at her place. Stone is later told to recover a hard drive from the NSA bunker, while trying to escape Agent Kyle Steele at the same time, and is rescued by Shavers. Some time later, Gibbons appears to be attacked in his home and murdered, with Deckert covering up the plot. Afterwards, Stone meets up with Gibbons' contact, a beautiful blonde named Charlie Mayweather, to get information and go to her safe house, but is framed so that it will appear that he murdered 4-Star General Jack Pettibone, whom Cobb and Charlie actually killed.

The police arrive, and Steele enters the house and makes a deal with Stone, while Shavers later, using the equipment he placed in Lola's place, hacks into the Pentagon to retrieve Deckert's plans. Afterwards, Stone infiltrates Deckert's troops aboard the USS Independence and discovers Gibbons is not dead, but being held prisoner by Deckert. Apparently Deckert is setting them up. Stone is discovered by Charlie (whom he knocks out). Gibbons orders him to escape and leave him. After retrieving the blueprints of Deckert's plot, Stone gets into an M-2 Bradley Armored Fighting vehicle and fights his way out of the ship, destroying a tank commandeered by Cobb's men to kill him. He briefly converses with Cobb and realizes that Deckert is planning a coup against the President.

Stone makes contact with Steele and shows him the plans; stating his view that Deckert is plotting to attack the Capitol. Steele counters Stone by insisting that Deckert is guarding the Capitol, not invading it. Stone insists this is a cover, then leaves in frustration with Steele's disbelief. During a conversation with Deckert, Steele realizes Stone was right, because Deckert lets it slip that he knows that Gibbons is still alive. He finds Stone and tells him Deckert wants to kill the president and his successors so that he can take his place. Steele suggests they go off the grid.

Stone, Steele, and Shavers enlist the aid Zeke and his crew. Together they rob an 18-wheeler, secretly hauling guns and equipment under the guise of a cheese truck normally used to haul wheels of varieties of cheese such as Parmesan, Gouda, Fontina, American, and Pepper Jack. On the night of Deckert's plan, they make their move, driving though the backs of buildings and warehouses. They end up hijacking a tank, and Stone helps Steele infiltrate the Capitol building. After some gunfights, during which Gibbons kills Charlie, Deckert and Cobb abduct the President while he is making the State of the Union Address. They escape on a bullet train.

Lola arrives in a special custom-built 2004 Ford Shelby Cobra and Stone uses it to infiltrate the bullet train, destroying the car in the process. He engages Cobb in hand-to-hand combat and finally kills him by causing an explosion blowing him out of the train . Stone fights Deckert while helping the president escape in an adjacent helicopter. Stone leaps from the fleeing train while Gibbons destroys it with a missile, obliterating and killing Deckert. The flaming wreckage from the train lights Stone in a silhouette as he dives into the river below, narrowly avoiding the wreckage that plunges in after him.

Never knowing that Deckert was conspiring to overthrow the president, he is buried and branded as "one of the nation's greatest heroes". The President awards Agent Steele and the Unknown Soldier (Stone) the Medal of Honor, as Stone goes back to his thug-esque lifestyle. Deckert receives full honors at his funeral (officially, he died while protecting the President), somewhat to Stone's disgust. Lola gives Stone the keys to a 1967 Ford Mustang, and he drives off; the xXx tattoo can be seen on the back of his neck.

In the now rebuilt NSA Headquarters, Gibbons, Steele and Shavers discuss what kind of person the next xXx agent should be; farther off the grid, a fresh face, a new model. Gibbons says that he has the perfect candidate for the job.

Cast

Soundtrack

A soundtrack containing hip hop and alternative rock was released on April 26, 2005 through Jive Records. It peaked at #117 on the Billboard 200, #48 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #5 on the Top Soundtracks chart.

Reception

Box office

The film was a Box office bomb with a gross of only $12.7 million on its opening weekend, half of what it was expected to earn. It went on to gross only $71,022,693 worldwide.[3]

Critical response

Though the film was expected to be one of the summer blockbusters of 2005, it performed poorly, both critically and financially. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 16% score based on 125 reviews.[4]

Boo Allen of the Denton Record Chronicle called Ice Cube's version of xXx "a chubby, surly, incomprehensible action hero".[5] Brian Orndorf of FilmJerk.com compared watching the film to running "headfirst at top speed into a brick wall".[6] David Hiltbrand of the Philadelphia Inquirer said "the plot swings between pathetically implausible and aggressively stupid".[7] Some critics liked the film. Mack Bates of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel praised Ice Cube's "trademark charisma and street sensibility",[8] while Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called it "that rare B movie that’s rooted in gut-level stirrings of power and retaliation".[9] Paul Arendt of the BBC said, "Viewed on its own trashy terms, it succeeds brilliantly".[10]

Sequel

After the low box office returns of xXx: State of the Union, the chance of a sequel looked slim. After Vin Diesel's new found fame and popularity, the studio has pondered making a sequel with the tentative name xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. In January 2014, Diesel said that the script should be complete within the following month.[11] Diesel announces on his Instagram page that the film will begin principal photography in The Philippines in December 2015.[12] On October 10, 2015, it was reported that director D.J. Caruso will direct xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.[13] Diesel announced on his Instagram account that UFC fighter Conor McGregor was cast in a role and Facebook that Jackson will be reprising his role as Gibbons.[14][15] In January 2016, Twitch reported that Tony Jaa, Jet Li and Deepika Padukone were cast in roles, Nina Dobrev and Ruby Rose were cast in roles with Dobrev as a witty and sarcastic techie, Padukone as a huntress who happens to be Cage’s former lover and Rose will play a sniper and Li was confirmed in the film as the leader of his own team and will square off against Cage, it's whether he is the ultimate villain of the pic remains to be seen.[16][17][18][19]

References

  1. ↑ "XXX 2 - THE NEXT LEVEL (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2005-04-04. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
  2. ↑ Lang, Brent; Waxman, Sharon (September 1, 2011). "Inside the Revolution Library: Where Joe Roth Went Wrong". The Wrap. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "XXX: State of the Union (2005)". The Numbers. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  4. ↑ "XXX: State of the Union (XXX: The Next Level)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster.
  5. ↑ ROTTEN TOMATOES: Just what we need, a chubby, surly, incomprehensible action hero Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ FilmJerk.com - Reviews - XXX: State of the Union
  7. ↑ http://ae.philly.com/entertainment/ui/philly/movie.html?id=301309&reviewId=17886
  8. ↑ http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=322097
  9. ↑ "Movie Review: XXX: State of the Union". Entertainment Weekly. 4 May 2005.
  10. ↑ Paul Arendt (28 April 2005). "BBC - Movies - review - XXX2: The Next Level". BBC.
  11. ↑ "Vin Diesel Confirms Script Almost Finished for XXX 3". amctheatres.com.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ Osborn, Alex. "Vin Diesel: XXX 3 Will Be Directed by D.J. Caruso". IGN.com. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑
  16. ↑ Brown, Todd (January 1, 2016). "Tony Jaa, Jet Li and Deepika Padukone Join Vin Diesel In XXX: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE". Twitch.
  17. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 7, 2016). "Nina Dobrev and Ruby Rose in Talks to Join Vin Diesel in 'XXX 3' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  18. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BAQtscwMZea/
  19. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 20, 2016). "Jet Li Set to Fight Vin Diesel in 'xXx 3'". The Hollywood Reporter.

External links

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