Some have been hailing this film as a new breed of secret agent films, a lot like the Bond series. Is it? Well kinda. The main character, Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) [yeah you try guessing which name is the actor's and which one is the characters!], is a secret agent kinda like James Bond...okay nothing like James Bond. This movie is just a rock'em, sock'em, action-packed joyride. Ne'er a dull moment. And am I surprised by that?

      No. I loved "The Fast and the Furious". That movie was about two things: cars and girls. Sure, the plot was lacking, but so what? The purpose of this movie was to be a vehicle for good lookin cars and good lookin girls, the plot took a backseat to them. You can say that same sentence about "xXx" also.

      Ever since I saw "Boiler Room", I have been a diehard Vin Diesel fan. He's just awesome. I read an article in Entertainment Weekly (I think it was that, so don't shoot me if you can't find it) about how he's the perfect product of our melting pot country...Italians see him as an Italian...black people see him as a black person...Latinos see him as Latin...funny? I've always thought he was white! (No joke, folks.) But this is silly, what the hell does his skin have to do with him being a kick ass actor?!

      So, who's Xander Cage? Well according to IMDb, he's an extreme sports athlete and also the notorious underground thrill seeker. The latter is the correct one. I saw nothing in this film that led me to believe he's an extreme sports athlete. Thrill seeker is more appropriate. So, Xander gets into trouble (finally) and is given an ultimatum by NSA Agent Gibbons (Sam Jackson): go to prison for life, or risk his life trying to gather intelligence in Prague. Xander, being the cocky, arrogant guy he is, takes the latter.

      But first he has to pass some "tests". The first one is obviously a test, but Xander is not so sure about the last one. But let's just say he passes them. Sure, I gave that away, but what did ya expect? The main character to die?! This is a rock'em, sock'em, action-packed joyride, remember? So then comes the mission, and even more action-- the violent variety and the sexual variety. The mission is to stop a bad guy, Yorgi, from exploding a missile--packed with biological warfare--over Prague. Creepy, ain't it? But why Europe? Did they not want to bring this movie too close to home? Remember what I said about the plot taking a backseat? Which brings me to the writing--the only thing I didn't like...but again, this is a vehicle for good looking cars and good looking women-- granted, not as much as "Fast and the Furious" was, but still a vehicle for them nonetheless. So I won't knock off too many points because of it.

      So, should you see this? If you loved "The Fast and the Furious", then you probably already have, but if you haven't then you gotta see this. If "The Fast and the Furious" wasn't your flavor of ice-cream, then wait til this comes on FOX. You'll still get a kick out of it, but the rock'em, sock'em, action-packed joyride can wait til then.

      If you want my suggestion, please avoid this movie unless:  1. You're 18 and under, 2. You have A.D.H.D., or 3. You're a horny teenage girl with a crush on Vin Diesel.  I would also say unless you're desperate to see half-naked women and listen to cool music, but if it's for that you may as well save your money and watch MTV.  "XXX" is just as dumb as "The Fast and the Furious."  From Rob Cohen comes another brainless action flick that caters to those who fry their brains all day with Playstation and Nintendo 64.  After hearing Vin Diesel's inspiring story on "Jay Leno" about his early attempts to become an independent filmmaker, I decided to give Vin a chance even after his horrible performance in "Fast and Furious."  Well, I'm trying to like this guy, but it doesn't look like he's gonna earn my respect anytime soon.  Throughout the film, he maintains the same conceited, I'm-the-man expression.  The acting, with the exception of Samuel L. Jackson and the beautiful woman who plays Vin's love interest, is horrible.  And the dialogue is beyond horrible.  There's one scene where (the great) Samuel L. Jackson has to deliver this stupid "foot-in-ass" line and I almost puked.  The elaborate stunts might impress the die-hard action crowd, but I find it difficult to engage myself in a film that doesn't even have halfway decent characters or plot.  Even guilty pleasures contain a certain degree of wit--which this film totally lacks.