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XXX: State of the Union By David DiCerto Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- Ice Cube goes off the grid and over the top in "XXX: The State of the Union" (Columbia), the odiously overwrought follow-up to the 2002 action film that starred Vin Diesel. Ice Cube plays Darius Stone, an ex-Navy SEAL serving 20 years on trumped-up charges connected to his tour of duty in Bosnia. With Diesel's one-man army, Xander Cage, out of the picture -- figuratively and literally -- Stone is recruited to take his place as the human weapon of the supersecret government agency headed by Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson), a member of Stone's old unit. Given the deep-cover designation "XXX," Stone must prevent a rogue arm of the U.S. military from assassinating the president (Peter Strauss), whom they perceive as weak on national security. The splinter group is led by the hawkish secretary of defense (Willem Dafoe), Stone and Gibbon's former commanding officer. Despite his undeniable screen appeal, the material doesn't allow -- or require -- Ice Cube to exercise his acting chops. As with the monotone Diesel before him, the only muscles that get a major workout are those in his trigger finger, the facial tendons allowing his lips to sneer, and the part of his larynx responsible for grunting. It is a pity that director Lee Tamahori, whose career started off so promisingly with his brutal but emotionally riveting debut film, "Once Were Warriors," should find himself enmeshed in such smash-and-crash fare. Though packed with slickly edited, if utterly ridiculous, action sequences, the testosterone-revved but plot-deficient sequel is twice as violent, twice as tedious and twice as pointless as the original. Unfortunately, my fellow Americans, this "State of the Union" is not good. The film contains excessive action violence, an instance of rough language and recurring crude expressions, profanity and sexual innuendo. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. - - - DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. END Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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