David Farnor | On 28, May 2017

Director: D.J. Caruso
Cast: Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone
Certificate: 12
Watch xXx: Return of Xander Cage online in the UK: Netflix UK / Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / TalkTalk TV / Google Play

Facebook. Twilight. Netflix. Brexit. All of these things have happened since Vin Diesel first swaggered onto our screens as Xander Cage in 2002. The other thing that has happened since then are seven Fast & Furious sequels. And so, just as Vin Diesel drives through the eighth action-packed car blockbuster, he returns once again for one of the most belated franchise sequels in cinema history.

Did anyone ask for Xander’s return? It’s unlikely, given the underwhelming xXx: State of the Union, which itself was released back in 2005, starring Ice Cube as another extreme-sportsman-turned-secret-agent. Indeed, the series seems less concerned with developing its main hero and more concerned with trying to emulate some fast, furious success – and so, within minutes of this lone wolf coming back into the fray, Cage promptly dumps the US soldiers forced upon him by his new handler out of a plane (something that earns no repercussions whatsoever), then requests a ragtag bunch of other sidekicks anyway.

It’s a smart move: Diesel is undeniably good at selling a set piece, but doesn’t quite have the light-hearted delivery to sell the dialogue in between. And so the witty banters goes to people such as Ruby Rose and Toni Collette. The action, meanwhile, is given a welcome variety by the introduction of Donnie Yen, who steals whole sequences with fist-to-fist combat – because sometimes, riding a skateboard down a hill isn’t enough to thrill in 2017.

Dated is the word for much of what’s on offer, thanks to DJ Caruso’s occasionally leering camerawork and the time-honoured Macguffin of “Pandora’s Box”, a magic device that will let the bad guys do bad things and bring about the end of freedom. Nina Dobrev’s tech expert Becky, meanwhile, isn’t even given the luxury of a character, talking of how afraid she is of guns one minute, then handling them seconds later, before inevitably ending up in the field. There is some novelty in the credits that present each new face to us, but for the most part, this is business as usual, circa 2002, right down to Samuel L. Jackson’s cameo as xXx’s mentor. Loud and typically over-the-top, he’s excellent at delivering the dire script. Some things, thankfully, never change.

 

xXx: Return of Xander Cage is available on Netflix UK, as part of an £9.99 monthly subscription. It is also available to watch online on Amazon Prime Video as part of a Prime membership or a £5.99 monthly subscription.

 

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