XXX: State Of The Union

Release Date: April 29, 2005
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Lee Tamahori
Screenwriter: Simon Kinberg
Starring: Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Michael Roof, Nona Gaye, Peter Strauss
Genre: Action, Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense action violence and some language)
Official Website: SonyPictures.com

Plot Summary: In Revolution Studios' follow-up to the successful franchise film "XXX," NSA Agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson), fresh off the success of his last renegade recruitment, once again finds himself in need of an outsider. Gibbons and his new agent (Ice Cube), also code-named "XXX," must track a dangerous military splinter group led by Willem Dafoe that is conspiring to overthrow the U.S. Government in the nation's capital.

Reviewed by Peter Veugelaers © 2005
- Better than a cheese royale: buy one while its hot

 Ice Cube as the latest incarnation of secret agent xXx is reticent about going “upstate”, a reference to how white Americans dominate the political scene and African Americans are too well adapted to their comfort zone, the ghetto, one of several political points xXx: State of the Union makes, sometimes flavoured with Cube’s laid back attitude and humour, and polished with Director Lee Tamahori’s stylish execution.

 Darius Stone aka xXx is the one-man band bringing retribution on corrupt factions in Washington, with a little help from his friends, including those played by rapper Xzibit and Nona M. Gaye (Ali), daughter of Marvin.

 We first see Darius as an inmate, who has a personal vendetta against a military general, played deliciously by Willem Dafoe, who is persuaded by undercover agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to protect the defence department from suspicious attackers, who turn out to be working for Washington insiders.

 On the eve of his state of the union address the President (Peter Strauss) is preparing to announce a left-leaning military bill when insurgents are mutinying the Government in protest, led by Dafoe.

 New Zealand-born director Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day) effortlessly and deftly directs this high-tech stylish actioner. The storyline is unbelievable but enjoyable escapism and for added realism left politics and points are seamlessly made.

 Potentially State of the Union is making a loaded point: a black American serves justice on the white system. And, international aid is cheered during a time when the Government is said to not give enough back to the Third World. Black issues are understated by Ice Cube, sometimes with humour and sexual politics, and the plight of prisoners is obliquely alluded to. The action-packed introduction and finale are well honed set pieces in a better-than-usual story.

 It requires a stretch to believe in Ice Cube the action hero when his Barbershop and Friday performances type him as the straight man in a black satirical comedy. But unlike Vin Diesel, who played the first criminal offender turned agent xXx before he pulled out of Fast and Furious and xXx sequels, Cube is attitude and a staunchly textured layer of character, whereas Diesel was muted one-dimensional brawn in his action roles.