xXx

This article is about the film xXx. For other uses of XXX, see XXX (disambiguation).

xXx
Film poster
Directed by	Rob Cohen
Produced by	Neal H. Moritz
Written by	Rich Wilkes
Starring	Vin Diesel Samuel L. Jackson William Hope Danny Trejo Asia Argento Marton Csokas
Music by	Randy Edelman
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Editing by	Chris Lebenzon Joel Negron Paul Rubell
Studio	Revolution Studios Original Film
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	August 9, 2002 (2002-08-09)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$70 million
Box office	$277,448,382

xXx, pronounced "Triple X", is a 2002 American action film directed by Rob Cohen and starring Vin Diesel in the lead role as Xander Cage, a thrill seeking extreme sports enthusiast, stuntman and rebellious anarchist-turned-reluctant spy for the National Security Agency who is sent on a dangerous mission to infiltrate a group of potential terrorists in Eastern Europe. xXx also stars Samuel L. Jackson, William Hope, Danny Trejo, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas, Michael Roof, Leila Arcieri and Tom Everett.

The film received mixed reviews but was a financial success for the studios, grossing US$277,448,382 worldwide. It was followed by a 2005 sequel entitled xXx: State of the Union.

Plot

An NSA agent on a mission infiltrates a concert where Rammstein is performing only to be killed by Anarchy 99, a rebellious Eastern European underground group. After losing the third agent assigned to the mission, NSA operative Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) gets the OK to run a project to find the right person to infiltrate Anarchy 99; since conventional NSA agents are too obvious to the ex-military Anarchy 99, Gibbons feels that a more brutal style of agent is called for in this instance to escape detection.

Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is a law-breaking extreme sports enthusiast, with a propensity for rebellious behavior. After crashing California senator Dick Hotchkiss' Corvette, in response to the senator championing a cause to ban all controversial video games and music, Cage's hideout is raided during a party by a SWAT Team and he is tranquilized.

Cage wakes up in a diner. As he groggily tries to familiarize himself with his surroundings, he notices things are out of place and is not surprised during a fake robbery attempt. After Cage quickly foils the "robbery", Gibbons informs him that the whole scenario was part of a test and that he passed. Cage tells Gibbons that he's not interested in this "test" and is once again tranquilized as he attempts to leave.

Cage later wakes up in the payload of a U.S. Marines C-123 cargo plane along with two other criminal types similar to Cage. The plane's cargo door opens, and Cage, along with the others, are dumped in Colombia and taken captive by a Colombian drug cartel after stumbling upon a cocaine plantation. Later, the cartel leader (Danny Trejo) arrives and attempts to interrogate the three who, believing the scene to be another NSA setup, jokingly refuse to cooperate. As the drug lord begins to use torture tactics, Cage realizes that this scenario is real and frees himself and the others as the Colombian Army raid the plantation. As Cage attempts to escape, he is captured by camouflaged NSA agents.

The next morning, Gibbons arrives and mentions that exposing the Colombian drug cartel was another part of the test. Xander is then given a choice by Gibbons: work for him or serve a lengthy prison term in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary for his misdeeds. He grudgingly chooses government employment.

xXx goes undercover in the Czech Republic in order to find out more about "Anarchy 99" and in particular their leader Yorgi (Marton Csokas), a Russian ex-soldier who has a grudge against authority and society in general, and indeed all political ideologies, both left wing and right wing. Fitting right into the dark yet lavish and tempting underworld inhabited by the group, Xander finds himself drawn to Yorgi's apparent girlfriend Yelena (Asia Argento), and he negotiates a political asylum deal with Gibbons to save and secure a new life for her in America. However, Anarchy 99 turns out to be a terrorist faction, planning a series of chemical weapons attacks on major world cities by utilizing a high speed automated sea-faring and river-faring drone named Ahab. The chemical weapon is referred to as "Silent Night", and the formula has been missing since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Silent Night is made of everyday chemicals that in combination are lethal. After killing millions the chemicals are designed to harmlessly disperse in water. Yorgi's ultimate aim is cause chaos and lawlessness across the entire world, bringing civilization to an anarchic end and destroying the system that killed so many of Anarchy 99's old military comrades for no reason.

Xander, with Yelena acting as a double agent, learns that Ahab is equipped with a device designed to travel to highly populated areas where it can deploy its biological missiles and continue on its world-ending journey by submerging in the ocean. An agent-turned-criminal Milan Sova (Richy Müller), unaware of Yorgi's ultimate plans, finds Xander's methods so extreme - Xander having exposed him as a spy during the initial infiltration attempt and subsequently shooting him with fake bullets to gain Yorgi's trust - that he defects in support of Yorgi, and Yelena is forced to kill him, but she reveals that she is an abandoned agent of the Russian intelligence agency, the Federal Security Bureau. Then, Xander arranges an operation with the Czech special forces to raid the remote castle, which Yorgi and Anarchy 99 have been using as their base and laboratory. Xander is then captured. Soon, the Czech police arrive, blowing up the mansion, and in the chaos Yorgi and Kirill, his sniper, escape. Xander and Yelena go after them and Xander kills Kirill using a heat seeking rocket, which was caused ironically by Kirill's habit of smoking. After Xander shoots and kills Yorgi, he speeds along winding roads in a previously acquired Pontiac GTO, and parasails onto Ahab as it speeds down the Vltava River towards Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, with a population of well over a million. Xander finally destroys the drone and the chemicals onboard as he quips, "Welcome To The Xander Zone!"

The film ends with Xander on vacation with Yelena in Bora Bora as agent Gibbons jokingly informs him that because of his actions, he has passed "The Test", the "Gibbons Test". He also says that he needs him for another assignment, as "something else has come up". Cage ignores this as he and Yelena go for a swim.

Cast

• Vin Diesel as Xander Cage, also known by his nickname "Triple X". Cage is a thrill seeking American extreme sports enthusiast, stuntman and anti-establishment activist. Idolized in some sub-cultures, xXx is also hunted by the authorities and he is offered a deal to become a spy for the National Security Agency in exchange for leniency, the agency requiring an agent who can do the current job without the military professional training that Anarchy 99's background will allow them to recognise.
• Samuel L. Jackson as Augustus Gibbons, a high ranking official in the National Security Agency who has the power to give xXx a pardon for his crimes. He uses this fact as leverage to recruit xXx for a mission he knows xXx is the only person with the possibility of succeeding- infiltrating Anarchy 99-, recognising the benefits of xXx's rebellious attitude and unorthodox methods.
• William Hope as Agent Roger Donnan, the Associate and Administrator of the National Security Agency.
• Danny Trejo as El Jefe, torturer for a Colombian drug cartel.
• Asia Argento as Yelena, Yorgi's apparent girlfriend. She was originally an Russian intelligence agent, sent to watch over Yorgi but has since been abandoned by her superiors. Yelena becomes romantically involved with xXx and he attempts to get her political asylum in the United States for her assistance in bringing down Yorgi
• Marton Csokas as Yorgi. Yorgi is a former soldier in the army of the Soviet Union, now a wealthy hedonist owning a string of locations around Eastern Europe, including a castle and nightclubs. Yorgi is also the leader of Anarchy 99, a group of militant anarchists with a disdain for all forms of government and authority, and society in general. His ultimate aim is complete lawlessness across the world.
• Michael Roof as Agent Toby Lee Shavers, NSA techno-genius and gadget specialist.
• Richy Müller as Milan Sova, a criminal and double agent.
• Werner Daehn as Kirill, a member of Anarchy 99, cigarette addict and rifle sharpshooter.
• Petr Jákl as Kolya, Yorgi's younger brother.
• Jan Pavel Filipensky as Viktor, a member of Anarchy 99 and close friend of Yorgi. He is usually with Yorgi wherever he goes.
• Tom Everett as Senator Dick Hotchkiss, a conservative California State Senator; his car is stolen and wrecked by xXx prior to his recruitment by the NSA, in an act of property destruction, as a protest against some of Hotchkiss's policies.
• Thomas Ian Griffith as Agent Jim McGrath.
• Eve as J.J., Xander's friend
• Leila Arcieri as Jordan King.
• Rammstein as themselves.

To imply Xander Cage's credibility within extreme sport subcultures, various personalities make cameo appearances:

• Tony Hawk makes a cameo appearance in the Corvette scene from the bottom of the bridge driving the getaway Cadillac, (near the beginning of the film) and skating over a half-pipe at Xander's place later.
• Mike Vallely also makes a cameo as a cameraman and an extra. Pro motocross rider Carey Hart is seen in the back seat of the Cadillac driven by Tony Hawk.
• Rider Matt Hoffman exchanges lines with Xander during the party scene.
• Also during the party scene, Josh Todd (the lead singer of Buckcherry) makes a cameo appearance though he never turns around, but his suicide king of hearts tattoo can be seen on his back.

Production

Filming of the movie took place at three locations. Most of the film is set in Prague, Czech Republic. The Corvette jump was filmed at the Foresthill Bridge in Auburn State Recreation Area, Auburn, California. The final scenes were set in Bora Bora, Tahiti, and other areas in French Polynesia.

The first few minutes of the film take place in a Rammstein concert in Prague. The same clip is available, but from the band's perspective (with only brief scenes from the film) in their video compilation Lichtspielhaus.

Several Czech Su-22s were used for the film. It was one of the last "actions" of these aircraft - they were all withdrawn from Czech Air Force in 2002.

Harry L. O'Connor, Diesel's stunt double, was killed in an accident during filming, in a scene in which he was supposed to rappel down a parasailing line and land on a submarine. When O'Connor failed to rappel down the line fast enough, he hit a bridge at high speed and was killed instantly. His death was caught on film, and director Rob Cohen decided to include the footage of the scene with the final moments edited out — out of respect for the stuntman's final act.

Soundtrack

Main article: xXx (soundtrack)

The film featured a contemporary rock music soundtrack, mostly featuring heavy metal. Rammstein provided some of the music and was even featured in the film in one scene. The soundtrack album also features Queens of the Stone Age, Drowning Pool, Hatebreed and others, and some artists of different genres such as Nelly, Lil' Wayne, N.E.R.D, Orbital and Moby. It was released on August 6, 2002 through Universal Records. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200, #16 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #1 on the Top Soundtracks. There was also a song created just for the movie. The song was "Adrenaline" by Gavin Rossdale, the lead singer of Bush.

Reception

xXx received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 48% of the critics gave the film positive reviews based on a sample of 174 reviews, with an average score of 5.8/10. It was a financial success. The film's box office surpassed its budget of US$70,000,000 with a North American gross of $142,109,382 and $135,339,000 in other territories, making its total worldwide gross $277,448,382.

Director's cut

The Director's Cut DVD of xXx was released on April 19, 2005, ten days before the sequel xXx: State of the Union was released in cinemas. The Director's Cut of xXx featured new artwork, and deleted scenes of xXx previously unseen. Some of these include additional scenes that foreshadowed Xander as a hero, and also a longer stripper-in-the-bedroom sequence. There were also sneak peeks at the sequel.

The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage

In addition to the deleted scenes on the Director's Cut of xXx, the DVD also contains an extra titled The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage, a four minute short film that attempts to tie up some loose ends about the Xander Cage character by showing his supposed gory demise.

In the short film Xander Cage is played by Vin Diesel's stunt double Khristian Lupo (who never shows his face or speaks) while reusing some lines spoken by Vin Diesel. It also features Leila Arcieri as Jordan King from the first film, and John G. Connolly as Lt. Colonel Alabama "Bama" Cobb, one of the villains from the sequel xXx: State of the Union, as the man behind the attack on Xander Cage.

The sequence opens with Xander driving in a car with Jordan King. He stops next to his apartment building. King makes sexual overtures to him and they get intimate. Suddenly they hear a noise and Xander goes to check it out. Cobb's men show up and abduct King. They plant a bomb in the building and drop her coat on the steps to trick Xander to his death. After confronting a homeless man, Xander returns to the building. He takes the bait left by Cobb and his henchmen and is blown apart by a huge explosion. His trademark coat survives the blast. Cobb shows up and picks up a piece of skin from Xander's neck which has the triple x tattoo on it. He remarks "Poor Xander, you never had very much between the ears." His men pick him up and drive off in their car. Cobb's motives for killing Xander are obvious; he doesn't want him to interfere in Deckert's plans. Feuer Frei by Rammstein plays in the background during the sequence.

Sequel

The film was followed by a very poorly received sequel in 2005, entitled xXx: State of the Union, starring the rapper Ice Cube and directed by Lee Tamahori. Neither Vin Diesel, Rob Cohen, nor xXx creator Rich Wilkes were involved in the sequel, and there were notable differences in both style (less emphasis on extreme sports) and music (rock music was replaced with hip hop and rap), for example. xXx: State of the Union currently has a very poor rating of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes. The sequel was also a disastrous financial failure, making less than half of what was expected compared to the original film.

Future

xXx: State of the Union was such a disappointment that it was widely believed to be the death of the xXx franchise. However, it has been reported that Vin Diesel has agreed to star in a sequel, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.

See also

• Stunts that have gone wrong
• Suicide Squad

External links

• xXx at the Internet Movie Database
• xXx at AllRovi
• xXx at the Internet Movie Cars Database
• xXx at Rotten Tomatoes
• xXx at Metacritic
• xXx at Box Office Mojo