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xXx: The Next Level
Release Date: 29th April 2005
Distributor: Columbia Tristar
Certificate: 12A
Starring: Ice Cube, Willem Dafoe, Samuel L. Jackson, Xzibit
Director: Lee Tamahori
Running Time:
101 mins
In this action-packed sequel (of sorts) to the thrilling xXx, Ice Cube stars as agent Darius Stone, a renegade recruit bought in by NSA agent Gibbons (Jackson) after the success of his last questionable recruitment (the Vin Diesel character from the first movie – keep up!)
Stone is an extreme-sports loving, sniper-firing ex-con, but more importantly a man of questionable character – making him perfect for the xXx program, where men like him are moulded in to secret agents in a James Bond mould, but with the difference being that their criminal lifestyle makes them very expendable.
To this end, Stone is sent on a mission to the US capital, where a man he once lead a mutiny against (Deckert, played by Dafoe) is planning a massive over-throw of the government. Having already attacked the xXx program’s NSA headquarters, Deckert is now planning to assassinate the president, and it’s up to Gibbons, Stone and another agent named Zeke (Xzibit) to thwart his plans.
Considering xXx was originally billed as being an anti-Bond franchise, they seem to be heading down the same road as 007 quite quickly. Not only has the lead actor changed, but there seems to be a Bond Girl type pattern emerging for the heroine, with producer Neal Moritz going as far as to state in a recent interview “Each one of these movies, you gotta start with a new girl”. Where the franchise will go from here is anyone’s guess, depending one would imagine on the success of this instalment, but with the usual mix of explosions, great one-liners and non-stop action, this is sure to do well at the box office.Click
Below to see more pictures from the movie
