- Film Review
- Reviewed By Alan Jones
-
3 out of 5
James Bond can rest easy. Vin Diesel cements his action-star status as "a new breed of secret agent", but in every other respect this junk Bond from director Rob Cohen is just pure, turbo-driven exploitation - dumb, fun and full of elaborate computer-generated stunts. Diesel plays extreme-sports hero Xander Cage, coerced by US government agent Samuel L Jackson into infiltrating the Prague-based "Anarchy 99" terrorist organisation. Bond parallels abound: Jackson is a scarred clone of M; Marton Csokas the Blofeld-style megalomaniac; Michael Roof a gadget-guru in the Q mould; and Italian sensation Asia Argento is "the girl", with little to do but switch romantic allegiance from villain to hero. Diesel doesn't have Bond's deft control of a one-liner and overall the film lacks wit - as well as consistent plotting - but the stunts are overblown and outrageous enough to produce sheer adrenaline-pumping excitement.
Plot Summary
Action-packed spy thriller starring Vin Diesel as extreme-sports fanatic Xander Cage, who is coerced by the US government into infiltrating a Prague-based terrorist organisation when he falls foul of the law.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Xander Cage, "X"
- Vin Diesel
- Yelena
- Asia Argento
- Yorgi
- Marton Csokas
- Agent Augustus Gibbons
- Samuel L Jackson
- El Jefe
- Danny Trejo
- Toby Lee Shavers
- Michael Roof
- Senator Dick Hotchkiss
- Tom Everett
- Milan Sova
- Richy Müller
- Kirill
- Werner Dähn
- Agent Jim McGrath
- Thomas Ian Griffith
Crew
- Director
- Rob Cohen
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