XXX - State of the Union (2005)

Great

I have to say it. Better Than The Original. More action, cool tech and a brand new XXX. The story was also very captivating. May 8, 2008

Ice Cube as XXX

Suspend disbelief, or Alter your mental state, and roll with it. The plot is not particularly believable, but Ice Cube is the man on screen. His attitude and person take over the movie, and he makes up for major plot holes in the film. This one cannot be taken as realistically (?) as Van Diesel's XXX (Unrated Director's Cut), but this movie is fun and entertaining.

If you think of the film as Friday Collection (Friday / Next Friday / Friday After Next) meets XXX, its all good. However I will watch anything with Ice Cube in the flick. I think he was stretching it a bit on this one, but countless scenes compensate for the unbelievable aspects. Have a Margarita, and roll with the inconsistencies. The action and Tank Jacking are worth it. March 22, 2008

How many levels of suck are there?

My brother bought me this DVD as a gag gift. I would have to say GAG fits my description of this movie very, very well. Firstly I should note that I wasn't a huge fan of XXX with Vin Diesel, but it is an Oscar winner compared to XXX: State of the Union. This movie was so ridiculous that it was down right funny. There were times I was laughing so hard I had to excuse myself to the lavatory.

Now for some reason good old Vin was not in this sequel. So who do we get to replace Vin? Ice Cube, yes Ice Cube. I don't know about anyone else, but it seemed like Ice Cube was lost this entire movie. As for the physical action he wasn't bad, but he just seemed to dim witted to know what was going on in this "want to be" 24 storyline.

There were things also that made me laugh so hard I was in pain. I also know that this wasn't the intention of the movie makers. Also general observations I made about my reaction to this film....

1) The CGI was so obnoxious in this movie it looked like a Playstation game.
2) In (at least) one of the stunt scenes an action figure is used. (Remember motorboat).
3) Ice Cube quotes 2Pac in the movie, too bad he can't act as good as 2Pac.
4) Helicopters are silent right before you jump on one.
5) Ice Cube is released from jail to save the USA, but never gets a pardon.
6) Ice Cube is supposed to save the USA.
7) The editing in this movie is worst that an Ed Wood movie.
8) Ice Cube made Vin Diesel look like Tom Hanks or Morgan Freeman.
9) Has Samuel L. Jackson made another good movie besides Pulp Fiction and the Star Wars prequels?
10) The President of the United States' "secret" train runs juxtaposition to I-95 or some other public interstate.
11) Ice Cube can jump off a train that is going 260 mph and fall over 100 feet and still dive perfectly into the water.
12) Ice Cube was in prison for almost ten years but has no problem understanding high tech weapons in mere minutes.
13) This movie really wanted to be a 007 film or an episode of 24.
14) The movie was made to promote a soundtrack.
15) Street thugs led by Xzibit can take on USA military intelligence.
16) The CGI was so obnoxious in this movie it looked like a cartoon.

I could go on, but I won't. This movie was just a poor excuse to cash in the XXX franchise, if there is even still a franchise after this bomb. It was also a poor excuse to blow stuff up and make an action move. Perhaps if this movie was just called State of the Union and no reference to XXX maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, nah.

As for entertainment, I had plenty of laughs watching this movie. I thought this movie was going to be bad, but I had no idea how hideous it really was going to be. Since Vin Diesel was the first XXX and Ice Cube was the second, maybe Tom Green can be the third. In conclusion, Showgirls has more depth than XXX: State of the Union. January 7, 2008

High Gloss, Low substance

Watching Ice Cube play the hard guy would-be spy makes you realise - wow! Vin Diesel actually DID have charisma after all!
All pretensions to the part being about spying and stealth are out of the window - the first movie had an appeal of being like a Bond movie on steroids; This one is just action, and could be any action franchise a few movies in. In fact, in terms of substance this could easily have been direct to video for all the weight the star and story carry... however, there are bangs for your buck on display here.. the actions scenes are as big budget as they are ludicrous. The opening scene has some promise with Samuel Jackson taking on the bad guys in his own headquarters, but when he steps into the wierd custom job car you know there is a franchise identity crisis on the way - is this XXX or Fast and Furious 4??
In short, this is brainless action - budget is on the screen, but not with the script. Ice Cube plods through the role giving it no heart, panache, or even self knowing parody. Daniel Defoe and Samuel Jackson should know better.
February 14, 2007

Low Expections Satisfied

I'm not sure what other people were expecting when I read their reviews. It's a sequel to a bad movie, and it stars Ice Cube, Xzibit and Samuel L. Jackson (who will clearly take any part for the right price). They couldn't even fine semi-famous actors to portray the token "hot chick." What did you expect? Of course the acting is terrible. Of course the plot makes no sense and there are a bunch of ridiculous explosions. Again, what did you expect?

I could have lived my whole life without seeing this movie and I wouldn't have missed a thing, but I happened to catch it on TV, and it's now awful. It is forgettable, but that's not the same thing. The movie is filled with terrible dialog and predictable twists, but who cares? They blow a lot of stuff up, and it will make you laugh--not at the intended jokes, of course--but at the fact that it seems to take itself seriously from time to time. Plus, you have Jackson and Willem Dafoe mailing in their performances, and Ice Cube trying as hard as can be to NOT be tongue-in-cheek and failing miserably. That alone is worth the 90 minutes of your time, especially if you're doing something else and just want the background noise. February 11, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...