XXX (2002 film)
| xXxXxXx | |
|---|---|
| File:XXxXxXx movie.jpg xXxXxXx movie poster | |
| 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) |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $85,000,000 US (est.) |
xXxXxXx, also written xXxXxXx and pronounced "Triple XXX", is a 2002 action movie starring Vin Diesel. xXxXxXx 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?").
xXxXxXx 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 xXxXxXx: State of the Union, starring rap artist/actor Ice Cube and Willem Dafoe.
Plot
xXxander Cage, a.k.a. xXxXxXx, is a law-breaking exXxtreme sports enthusiast, with a propensity for rebellious behavior. After crashing a senator's Corvette for banning exXxtreme sports, he is given a choice by US Government agent Augustus Gibbons- work for him or serve a prison term for his misdeeds. He chooses grudgingly chooses government employment. He is to go undercover in order to find out more about a rebellious underground group 'Anarchy 99' and in particular their leader 'Yorgi', a Russian exXx-soldier who has a grudge against society and authority. Delving into the dark underworld inhabited by the group, xXxander 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, and secure her a new life 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 drone, named Ahab. xXxander, with Yelena continuing to act 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. Afn agent-turned-criminal Milan Sova, finds xXxander's methods so exXxtreme that he defects in support of Yorgi, and Yelena is forced to kill him. Then, xXxander arranges an operation to raid the remote castle which Yorgi and Anarchy 99 have been using as their base and laboratory. After xXxander shoots and kills Yorgi, xXxander speeds along winding roads, and parasails onto Ahab, as it speeds down a river towards Prague, finally destroying the drone and the chemicals onboard. The movie ends with xXxander on vacation with Yelena in Bora Bora as agent Gibbons jokingly informs him that because of his actions during the movie, he has passed "The Test", the "Gibbons Test".
Cast
| Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vin Diesel | xXxander 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 | |
| Nikki Bartlett | 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 exXxtreme 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 TuxXxedo", 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 xXxander Cage's youthful rebelliousness, although he notes his personal disdain for, and displays certain misconceptions of, 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 xXxander 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 xXxander's place later. Mike Vallely also makes a cameo as a cameraman and an extra. Pro BMxXx rider Rick Thorne is seen in the back seat of the Cadillac driven by Tony Hawk, and rider Matt Hoffman exchanges lines with xXxander 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]
xXxander'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 and tranquilizer, radio surveillance, exXxploding (bomb), standard .44 caliber bullets |
| Eagle Eyes | Enhanced vision binoculars, including x-ray mode |
| Dr. Bellinger's Bandages | Covert concealed primer-cord based exXxplosive 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, exXxploding 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 xXxXxXx 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 xXxander 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 mixXx]" – 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 xXxander 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 xXxander died.
The Final Chapter: The Death of xXxander 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, xXxXxXx: 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 xXxander 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 xXxXxXx: State of the Union, one of the NSA agents reports that xXxander 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.
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
- xXxXxXx at IMDb
- xXxXxXx at the Internet Movie Cars Database
- xXxXxXx at Rotten Tomatoes
- xXxXxXx at Metacritic
- xXxXxXx at Box Office Mojo
- Enjoy The Drive All about the 1967 Pontiac GTO.