XXX
Released: August 9, 2002
He was born Mark Vincent but when he was 17 he changed his name to Vin Diesel. An aspiring actor, his career gained blazing forward momentum when Stephen Spielberg asked him to join the cast of "Saving Private Ryan" in 1998. Since then he's delivered three killer films - "Boiler Room", "Pitch Black" and "The Fast And The Furious" - the last of which was a mega-hit and established Diesel as a force to reckon with. He wisely decided to opt of of a "Fast And The Furious" sequel and chose "XXX" instead, which looks like it will become a powerful franchise, much like his "Pitch Black" film which will see a number of followups. In short, this guy is the new action hero, the new James Bond. Women love him and guys wanna be him. The first in the "XXX" series shows us he can deliver the goods. Re-teaming with "Fast And The Furious" director Rob Cohen, who'll also not return to that movies sequel, Diesel plays Xander Cage, the notorious underground thrill seeker who until now has been deemed untouchable by the law. NSA Agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) forces XXX to cooperate with the government to infiltrate an underground Russian crime ring and avoid going to prison. Betting XXX can succeed where other conventional spies have failed, Gibbons sends XXX to enter this world of crime undetected, using his natural athletic prowess and a whole lot of attitude. Enlisted for a dangerous covert mission, he must combat a clever, organized, and ruthless enemy far beyond the scope of his experience. The kids will still go to the new Bond films but it looks like "XXX" is the secret agent spy franchise for the new generation. A fine Summer action flick that entertains in a silly sort of way Summer movies are supposed to...
124 Minutes
Revolution Studios/Columbia/Sony