Review by Jonathan Godfrey for Mr. Will Wong
The art and industry of Film makes for a beautiful beast. Take the exploits of Xander Cage for example. He stepped onto the scene 15 years ago. As the X-Games went live on television, Xander made them even more fantastical on Film. He was the millennial Bond. Same-same, but different.
Fast-forward to today. James Bond is as iconic as ever, and so is Vin Diesel. Following his greatest success to date (Furious 7), Diesel has set his sights on rescuing his abandoned moniker. In bringing back Xander Cage, he brought along a multi-cultural cast. Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone and Tony Jaa face-off against the returning hero. Australia’s Toni Collette and Ruby Rose are onboard too, and assist Xander in his efforts to overcome the aforementioned trio. It’s a good cast, Samuel L. Jackson and Ice Cube are even back… but that doesn’t mean the Film isn’t a shark-jumping debacle!
Yes, the Film has some great choreography. Xander’s opening scene and all of Xiang’s (Yen) fights are fantastic. Heck, even Adele’s (Rose) aerial silk sniper sequence was remarkable, but the buck stops there… or whenever Xander drives a motorcycle through a wave. The script is tad wooden, the jackets are distracting and the rest of Xander’s wardrobe was stolen from Dominic Toretto. But boys are still gonna love it, and there’s enough girl power geared to a few females. Like Nina Dobrev, who acts as Xander’s “eye in the sky”, Ms. Becky Clearidge. The beloved Canadian shows great comedic chops, and is a welcome escape from the relentless action. She makes the beast a bit more beautiful, but like lipstick on a pig, there are limits despite the effort.
The Film has its moments, good and bad. If you’ve seen its Trailer, you know what you’re getting into… a beautiful beast or a beast surrounded by beauty. Either way it’s a mixed bag made with good intentions, and too well aware of its own place to critique to excess.
Paramount Pictures Canada release xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE Friday, January 20, 2017.
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