xXx: Return of Xander Cage sees Vin Diesel revisiting a not-so-iconic role: Xander Cage, the legendary operative of the Triple X program, an NSA initiative that turns highly-athletic adrenaline junkies into super field agents. The plot involves Cage, who had faked his death, coming back into the fold to recover a world-threatening device called “Pandora’s Box” – which was recently used to kill his Triple X mentor/recruiter, NSA agent Augustus Eugene Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) – while working with and against other ridiculously badass daredevils.
I never liked the previous two xXx movies. That’s why the existence of xXx: Return of Xander Cage never really did anything for me. I never had any enthusiasm for it. At best, I was expecting it could be a dumb, sufficiently fun popcorn flick.
The plot is predictable, the narrative is relentlessly stupid, and the characters are absurd. But those are not my problems with the movie. It actually could have been successfully engaging as an action film with those. But the uneven tone, mostly hard-to-follow action sequences, and pretentious attempt to be a combination of the Mission Impossible and Fast and the Furious franchises greatly distracted me from enjoying it thoroughly.
The only real good thing I can take from this movie is Donnie Yen, who plays the character Xiang. Seriously, the guy needs to headline his own Hollywood action movie soon. With his talent and charisma, he’s far deserving of it.
In the end, even as a disposable action film, the entertainment value of xXx: Return of Xander Cage barely covers the bare minimum requirement.
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