Triplo X 2: Estado de Emergência

Darius Stone(Ice Cube:BarberShop,Ghost of Mars,Three Kings) is recruited by the government on a special mission.NSA Agent August Gibbons(Samuel L Jackson)forces him to cooperate with the government and avoid returning to Prison.Betting Darius can succeed where other conventional agents have failed .Gibbons sends Stone to investigate in the high politic world,using his natural abilities and a whole lot of position.He's helped by agent Kyle Steele(Scott Speedman).His mission to gather information on a deadly conspiracy led by Secretary of Defense(William Dafoe) that may just be planning the taking over US government and substituting the President(Peter Strauss).Darius must combat an intelligent organization and a powerful enemy far beyond his possibilities.

It's a standard actioner with no much sense where there are suspense,thriller,pursuits,struggles, explosions and minimum characterization. The film is plenty of macho man incarnated by Ice Cube who makes an embarrassing acting.The picture contains fights,gun-play,chases,firepower and frenetic pursuits with bounds and leaps as when a water-motorcycle runs afoul.It's tense and exciting at time though also a routine unstopped action film less than memorable.Colorful cinematography by David Tattersall and appropriate music adjusted to the action by Marco Beltrani.The film is lavishly produced by the great producer of action genre Neal Moritz(Prison break,Torque,Swat,Stealth,Skulls,Fast and furious I,II).The motion picture is regularly directed by Lee Tamahori(Along came a spider,Once were warriors) who made much better in James Bond series(Die another day) .Rating : Below average

"xXx2: The Next Level" (Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures changed the subtitle from "State of the Union" for international territories, for obvious reasons) comes from the director of "Die Another Day," which was terrible; producer Neal H. Moritz, whose last credited project was the dire (and thankfully now-cancelled) "Point Pleasant"; is a sequel to the dreadful "xXx"; and comes equipped with Samuel L. Jackson's stated dislike of making movies with rappers. On this showing, you can't blame him.

Trading in Vin Diesel (his character is written out by someone saying that he got killed in Bora Bora) for Ice Cube is no improvement; not only is he not the most expressive actor, but he's not that convincing in action (when he's being chased by Scott Speedman you just KNOW that Speedman would catch him like that (snaps fingers) in real life). In fairness to Mr. Cube, he's far from the only thing wrong with this; Simon Kinberg's screenplay seems not only to have been aimed at emotionally and intellectually stunted 13-year-olds but written by them as well, with the plot starting idiotically and continuing from there - the villainous Secretary of Defence played by Willem Dafoe is so pantomime villainous that when he makes a speech to Jackson you're surprised he doesn't laugh maniacally.

Suspending disbelief is one thing, but when you have a movie that expects people to believe that tanks can be handled like motorbikes... and which works in such daft plot turns as characters having their deaths faked just so they can be around for the climax (why not just kill them there?)... and that has a finale which depends on a car and a Presidential bullet train being able to fit on the same track despite the car being a compact if speedy sports car... in this case it's just impossible. Admittedly it doesn't help that said scenes are incompetently executed thanks to shockingly bad special effects and shoddy direction; some of the miniatures are glaringly obvious, and I particularly hope that lead effects house Industrial Light and Magic didn't do the CGI bullet train shots. And as for the way some of the shots go from film to what looks like video and back again...

The cast isn't much good either, although it's fun to see Peter Strauss as the President (in spite or because of his not sounding like he believes a word of this); Xzibit not only helps parts of this seem like "Pimp My Ride: The Movie" but he can't act, Dafoe is Special Guest Villain level, and Jackson phones it in. As for the female characters, Nona Gaye and Sunny Mabrey are pretty much defined by their cleavage and by the fact that one's good and the other (the one who looks like a cross between Nicolette Sheridan and Rachel Bilson) isn't. (The movie can't even be laddish properly; for some reason the sexiest woman in the movie (Masuimi Max, who plays Xzibit's girlfriend and who helps out with the robbery of the artillery-carrying cheese truck) isn't listed in the credits.) And the tiresome, crowbarred-in rap numbers don't help, certainly not compared to Marco Beltrami's score. (Ironically, at one point on hearing the female string quartet Bond our hero complains about the music; they are not to blame for the aural wrongs.)

"xXx2: Whatever" is so unexciting and so absurd that despite its stabs at relevance (our hero claims Dafoe is hatching "World War IV"), the only way to get through it is as a laugher; the sight of Ice Cube in a suit and tie (with umbrella!) is funnier than his intentional attempt at comedy later in the same scene. To make it worse, the last scene leaves the door wide open for a third movie... if it does happen, why not cast Scarlett Johansson or Charlotte Church as the new Triple X? It's not like realism is a key factor here.

From the creators of "Die Another Day"! XXX: The Next Level as released on the Philippines.

Having said that, it wouldn't be a surprise that this movie was just one action scene after another. Although a lot of negative feedbacks are here about the plot and the characters this movie is sure to satisfy the typical action movie fanatic. True to the reputation of that aforementioned James Bond movie there never was a dull moment in the movie. The pace and the tension of this movie just keeps the story flowing with slight stops to help you catch your breath and ingest the movie if aren't trashing it already.

I admit that upon seeing Ice Cube as the one to play the role of the new Triple X I was skeptical about his capabilities. Having the typical role of a bad-ass, the attitude and situations really suit him. I wasn't totally disappointed. However, it was sort of a plot hole for them to consider Xander Cage as being less of a character than Darius Stone. I actually didn't like that idea. I'm still confused whether their mention of the previous Triple X being killed as a cover up or a fact. Hey, this is a gov't agency! One can never assume.

As usual for most action movies this is another marketing scheme for brand products from Ice Cube's backpack to his gadgets and, of course, the hot cars, which I admit are the top of the line.

If you're just another movie fanatic after a good rush this movie is for you - bang for your buck. But for the discriminating movie fan this will hardly satisfy you. I actually liked this movie regardless of the whole lame plot. Hey, you can't please everyone!

Notice how cool it has become to say "I want those two hours of my life back!!" after having seen a really bad movie? Well, only stupid people use that line. You know what you're going into, folks! If you really wanted those two hours (not to mention your money) back, might you not have shown a bit of critical sense before deciding to watch something you *knew* probably would have no redeeming values? Sigh. Well, your life, your problem.

xXx2 was not a great movie, nor even a good one, but I went into it with the expectations of something really terrible, and it wasn't that bad at all. It was pretty much as good as I could have dared hope for. A lot of people knock the original movie, but I think it's a cult classic, worthy of an 8 rating. I had no illusions that the sequel would touch that level, and indeed it did not. For one thing, Ice Cube is nowhere near as cool as Vin Diesel.

But the whole anti-authority thing saves it. I don't know about you, but I think it's a hoot to see a bunch of street-wise Black hustlers hijack a tank and blow the lid off the white house to save a President who's probably far more liberal than any president the U.S. has ever had. This is what art and entertainment is for, people. Progressive messages, to show us that a better way is possible. This movie had heart. And it had the only true kind of patriotism: the anti-fanatic kind.

And the action and SFX, while frequently silly, did what they were supposed to: entertain.

5 out of 10.

Unnecessary sequel about ex-Navy SEAL-turned-imprisoned convict Darius Stone (Cube)—court-martialed years earlier for attempting to overthrow a four-star general (Dafoe) during a black bag operation—who's recruited by NSA agent Jackson to become the new XXX and thwart that same general—now the Secretary of Defense with his own agenda. Obvious and by the numbers the film manages to throw out enough loud action scenes and cheesy one-liners to be some fun, but it's awfully derivative and fails to distinguish itself from the standard action genre. Works fine if you're just looking for a rush, and can accept a hackneyed plot with a cardboard Cube in the lead. **