XXX: State Of The Union (2005)

2 out of 4

Starring: Ice Cube, Scott Speedman, Samuel L Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Nona Gaye, Peter Strauss

Director: Lee Tamahori

Time: 101 mins

Viewed: in home theatre

Weak sequel to middling James Bond-wannabe action pic XXX (which starred Vin Diesel), this time with rapper Ice Cube as the titular super agent (you know things aren't going well when Diesel's character from the original is mentioned as being killed in the first few minutes). This time around, boss Gibbons (Jackson) and a bunch of his former military mates are being routinely executed and set up as scapegoats for a big operation involving the president of the USA (Strauss), the Secretary of Defence (Dafoe) and the annual State of the Union address (ah...so that's where the title comes from!). The new XXX (Cube), of course, attempts to put a stop to this. Filled with some outlandish action setpieces, film forgoes its spy origins and becomes a noisy assault on the senses. Ice Cube is fine, spouting his lines with a slick, deadpan tone, but the acting takes a backseat to the bullets and explosions. Tamahori directs this the same way he directed the last Bond flick, Die Another Day, with some crude CGI effects and a throw-the-kitchen-sink-in-there attitude, but by the end one might not even care what happens.

(c) Joe Wong (4 September 2005)