XXX (2002 film)
| xXx | |
|---|---|
 xXx movie poster This file may be deleted at any time. | |
| Directed by | Rob Cohen |
| Written by | Rich Wilkes |
| Produced by | Neal H. Moritz |
| Starring | Vin Diesel Asia Argento Marton Csokas Samuel L. Jackson |
| Music by | Randy Edelman |
| Distributed by | Columbia TriStar |
Release date | August 9 2002 (U.S.) |
Running time | 124 min. 132 min. (director's cut) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $85,000,000 US (est.) |
xXx, pronounced "Triple X", is a 2002 action movie starring Vin Diesel. xXx was marketed as a James Bond style film for the new millennium and featured similar gadgetry, international schemes and intrigues, villain-sponsored take-over-the-world schemes backed up by doomsday devices, a female co-star/love interest, and elaborate stunts (as Roger Ebert put it, "Why blow up two cars when you can blow up twenty?").
xXx was written by Rich Wilkes, directed by Rob Cohen (who also directed Diesel in 2001's The Fast and the Furious), and produced by Neal H. Moritz for Revolution Studios. The novelization for the movie was written by Mel Odom.
A sequel was released in 2005, titled xXx: State Of The Union, starring rap artist/actor Ice Cube and Willem Dafoe.
Plot
Xander Cage, a.k.a. xXx, a law-breaking, extreme sports enthusiast, with a propensity for rebellious behavior, is 'hired' by Augustus Gibbons to go undercover in order to find out more about the underground group 'Anarchy 99' and in particular their leader 'Yorgi', a Russian ex-soldier who has a grudge against society and authority.
Delving into the dark underworld inhabited by the group, Xander finds himself drawn to Yorgi's, apparent, girlfriend Yelena, who turns out to be an abandoned agent of a Russian intelligence agency, the FSB and he negotiates an asylum deal with Gibbons to save her life.
Anarchy 99 turn out to be planning a series of chemical weapons attacks on major world cities, utilizing a high speed automated sea-faring drone, named Ahab, with the device designed to travel to each location, deploy its toxins and carry on its journey.
After dealing with agent-turned-criminal Milan Sova, who finds Xander's methods so extreme that he defects in support of Yorgi, Xander arranges an operation to raid the remote castle which Yorgi and Anarchy 99 have been using as their base and laboratory.
After Xander shoots and kills Yorgi, the movie has Xander speeding along winding roads, and parasailing onto Ahab, the drone, as it speeds down the river towards Prague, finally ending in his successful destruction of the drone and the chemicals onboard.
Cast
| Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vin Diesel | Xander Cage | Protagonist |
| Asia Argento | Yelena | Yorgi's girlfriend; abandoned Russian intelligence agent |
| Marton Csokas | Yorgi | Leader of Anarchy 99; owner of numerous night clubs |
| Samuel L. Jackson | Augustus Gibbons | NSA agent |
| Michael Roof | Agent Toby Lee Shavers | Nerdy NSA gadget guy |
| Richy Müller | Milan Sova | |
| Werner Daehn | Kirill | |
| Petr Jákl | Kolya | |
| Jan Pavel Filipensky | Viktor | |
| Tom Everett | Senator Dick Hotchkiss | |
| Danny Trejo | El Jefe | |
| Thomas Ian Griffith | Agent Jim McGrath | |
| Eve | J.J. | |
| Leila Arcieri | Jordan King | |
| William Hope | Agent Roger Donnan | |
| Till Lindemann | Rammstein | |
| Richard Z. Kruspe | ||
| Christoph Schneider | ||
| Paul Landers | ||
| Oliver Riedel | ||
| Christian Lorenz |
Movie themes
Various concepts and themes influenced the production of the film and are alluded to throughout the plot. These include extreme sport subcultures, anarchism, and a rejection of traditional spy-film clichés. The opening scene of the movie was referred to by Cohen as "The Death of The Tuxedo", in reference to styles of dress stereotypically worn in James Bond movies, though Cohen denied that this was meant to be a derogatory attack on such films. He also explained that the antagonist, Yorgi, was designed as a stereotypical anarchist, and was intended to act as a foil to Xander Cage's youthful rebelliousness, although he notes his personal disdain, and displays certain misconceptions, for the political philosophy.[1]
Production
Filming of the movie took place at three locations. Most of the movie 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 movie 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 movie) in their video compilation Lichtspielhaus.
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 movie) and skating over a half-pipe at Xander's place later. Mike Vallely also makes a cameo as a cameraman and an extra. Pro BMX rider Rick Thorne is seen in the back seat of the Cadillac driven by Tony Hawk, and rider Matt Hoffman exchanges lines with Xander during the party scene.
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 camera, but 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.[2]
Xander's gadgets
| Gadget | Description |
| Motorola Accompli Communicator | Modified for 2 way Videophone Use |
| Multi-Purpose, Multi-Function Field Revolver | Modified Smith & Wesson N-Frame Model 610 Classic with Custom Barrel and C-More Sight |
| Attachment Darts for MPMFFR | Datura Knockout, Blood splatter & Tranquillizer, Radio Surveillance, Exploding (Bomb), Standard .44 Caliber Bullets |
| Eagle Eyes | Enhanced Vision Binoculars, including X-Ray Mode |
| Dr. Bellinger's Bandages | Covert concealed Primer-cord based explosive Incl. Wireless Detonator |
| Pontiac GTO | Modified by Agent Shavers includes Ejectable Roof, Concealed personal weapons cache, hidden stinger missiles, Removable parachutes in seats, GPS navigation, Flame thrower, mini-bombs, exploding hubcaps |
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released through Universal Records.
- Note: Some versions of the soundtrack do not contain track 11, "Juicy", on Disc 1.
- Down with the Sickness from Disturbed was in the movie but not in the soundtrack.
Instead of this song, some versions contained the song "Me Vs. ME" by the band 4LYN.
Disc 1-The Heavy Metal Side
- "Feuer Frei!" – Rammstein
- "Bodies (Vrenna xXx Mix)" – Drowning Pool
- "I Will Be Heard" – Hatebreed
- "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire (Credited as "Millionaire" on the soundtrack)" – Queens of the Stone Age
- "Before I Die" – Mushroomhead
- "Get Up Again" – Flaw
- "Landing" – Moby
- "Adrenaline" – Gavin Rossdale from Bush
- "004" – Fermin IV
- "Technologicque Park" – Orbital
- "Juicy" – I Mother Earth
Disc 2-The Xander Zone
- "Stick Out Ya Wrist" – Nelly featuring Toya
- "Look At Me" – Lil' Wayne
- "Truth Or Dare" – N*E*R*D featuring Kelis & Pusha T
- "Are We Cuttin?" – Pastor Troy featuring Ms. Jade
- "Still Fly" – Big Tymers
- "Connected For Life" – Mack 10 (featuring Ice Cube, WC & Butch Cassidy
- "Lights, Camera, Action! [Club mix]" – Mr.Cheeks featuring Missy Elliott & P.Diddy
- "I'ts Okay" – Postaboy featuring Rashad & 7A
- "Yo, Yo, Yo" – Dani Stevenson
- "Lick" – Joi
- "Ready For Action" - The Crystal Method
Director's cut
The Director's Cut of the DVD was released with about ten minutes of additional footage and sneak peeks at the sequel. There are additional scenes that foreshadowed Xander as a hero and a longer stripper-in-the-bedroom sequence. In addition to this material, the DVD contains a film short with Vin Diesel's voice dubbed in as an actor is seen from behind that shows how Xander died.
The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage
This short film was a special feature on the Director's Cut of the DVD. It included Leila Arcieri, who had under thirty seconds of screentime in the film as "Jordan King", along with John G. Connolly as "Lt. Alabama 'Bama' Cobb", one of the henchmen from the sequel, XXX: State of the Union.
The short film ties up the loose ends from the first film and ties into the beginning of the sequel — albeit not very neatly. A special ops team, wearing identical uniforms to the special ops team in the sequel's opening scene, track down Xander Cage, who happens to be on a date with Jordan King. The team tricks Cage into entering a building they have rigged to explode. Cage, being the hero, enters the building in the hopes of rescuing his date. Cage meets his demise, after which Lt. Cobb arrives on the scene to verify Cage's death.
The short film's storyline doesn't match that of the sequel: At the beginning of XXX: State of the Union, one of the NSA agents reports that Xander Cage died in Bora Bora that very morning and features Cage unconscious in the back seat of the helicopter under the influences of a "Datura" knockout dart.
DOCTOR WORM WAS HERE
References
- ^ Director Rob Cohen makes various comments attesting to themes which played part within the film making process in an audio commentary track for the DVD release. In an attempt to describe Anarchism for the audience, he misclassifies it as a "Russian philosophy," and denounces it.
- ^ On the DVD's director's commentary track, Rob Cohen commented on his decision to include the edited footage of O'Connor's death in the final cut of the film.
External links
- xXx at IMDb
- xXx at the Internet Movie Cars Database
- xXx at Rotten Tomatoes
- xXx at Metacritic
- xXx at Box Office Mojo
- Enjoy The Drive All about the 1967 Pontiac GTO.