XXX (stylized as xXx and pronounced Triple X) is an American spy fiction action film series created by Rich Wilkes. It consists of three full-length feature films: XXX (2002), XXX: State of the Union (2005) and XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017), and a short film: The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage. The series has grossed $694 million worldwide.
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Release date | 2002–present |
Running time | 322 minutes[1][2] |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | Total (3 films): $215 million |
| Box office | Total (3 films): $694 million[3] |
Films
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XXX | August 9, 2002 | Rob Cohen | Rich Wilkes | Neal H. Moritz |
| XXX: State of the Union | April 29, 2005 | Lee Tamahori | Simon Kinberg | Neal H. Moritz & Arne L. Schmidt |
| XXX: Return of Xander Cage | January 20, 2017 | D.J. Caruso | F. Scott Frazier | Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Vin Diesel & Samantha Vincent |
XXX (2002)
The film was released on August 9, 2002, which stars Vin Diesel as Xander Cage, a thrill seeking extreme sports enthusiast, stuntman and rebellious athlete-turned-reluctant spy for the National Security Agency who is sent on a dangerous mission to infiltrate a group of potential Russian terrorists in Central Europe. The film also stars Asia Argento, Marton Csokas and Samuel L. Jackson. It was directed by Rob Cohen, who previously directed The Fast and the Furious (2001), in which Diesel also starred.
XXX: State of the Union (2005)
The film was released on April 29, 2005, which stars Ice Cube as Darius Stone, a new agent in the Triple X program, who is sent to Washington, DC to defuse a power struggle amongst national leaders.
XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017)
The film was released on January 20, 2017, sees the return of Diesel as Xander Cage who comes out of self-imposed exile, thought to be long dead, and is set on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora's Box. Recruiting an all-new group of thrill-seeking cohorts, Xander finds himself enmeshed in a deadly conspiracy that points to collusion at the highest levels of world governments.[4]
Untitled fourth XXX film (TBA)
In September 2018, it was announced that a fourth film is in development. The project will be a joint-venture production, with The H Collective and iQiyi after the former acquired franchise rights from Revolution Studios. D. J. Caruso was believed to return as director, while Vin Diesel will reprise his role as Xander Cage. Production was scheduled to begin in early-2019.[5] In November 2018, Jay Chou and Zoe Zhang joined the cast.[6] Japanese rock star and musician Yoshiki will serve as the film's composer.[7][8]
Short film
The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage (2005)
Included with the 2005 director's cut DVD of the first film is a four-minute short titled The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage, that serves as a prequel to XXX: State of the Union by detailing the alleged death of Xander Cage before the events of that film.
In the short film, Xander is played by Vin Diesel's stunt double Khristian Lupo (who never shows his face or speaks) while reusing some archival lines spoken by Diesel. It also features Leila Arcieri as Jordan King from the first film and John G. Connolly as Lt. Colonel Alabama "Bama" Cobb, one of the villains from xXx: State of the Union who is Deckert's right-hand man, as the man behind the attack on Xander.
The sequence opens with Xander driving in a car with Jordan King. He stops next to his apartment building. King makes sexual overtures to him and they get intimate. Suddenly they hear a noise and Xander goes to check it out. Cobb's men show up and abduct King. They plant a bomb in the building and drop her coat on the steps to trick Xander to his death. After confronting a homeless man, Xander returns to the building. He takes the bait left by Cobb and his henchmen and is apparently blown apart by a huge explosion. His trademark coat survives the blast. Cobb shows up and picks up a piece of burnt skin from Xander's neck which has the Triple X tattoo on it. He remarks "Poor Xander, you never had very much between the ears." His men pick him up and drive off in their car. Cobb's motives for killing Xander are obvious; he doesn't want him to interfere in Deckert's plans. "Feuer Frei" by Rammstein plays in the background during the sequence.
Cast and crew
Cast
| Characters | Films | Short film | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XXX | XXX: State of the Union |
XXX: Return of Xander Cage |
XXX 4 | The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage | |
| 2002 | 2005 | 2017 | TBA | 2005 | |
| Xander Cage xXx |
Vin Diesel | Vin Diesel | Khristian Lupo | ||
| Vin Diesel (archive recordings) | |||||
| NSA Agent Augustus Eugene Gibbons | Samuel L. Jackson | ||||
| Darius Stone xXx |
Ice Cube | ||||
| Toby Lee Shavers | Michael Roof | ||||
| Jordan King | Leila Arcieri | Leila Arcieri | |||
| Alabama "Bama" Cobb | John G. Connolly | John G. Connolly | |||
| Yorgi | Martin Csokas | ||||
| Yelena | Asia Argento | ||||
| Milan Sova | Richy Müller | ||||
| Kirill | Werner Daehn | ||||
| Kolya | Petr Jákl | ||||
| Viktor | Jan Pavel Filipensky | ||||
| California State Senator Dick Hotchkiss | Tom Everett | ||||
| El Jefe | Danny Trejo | ||||
| NSA Agent Jim McGrath | Thomas Ian Griffth | ||||
| J.J. | Eve | ||||
| NSA Agent Roger Donnan | William Hope | ||||
| Ivan Pedgrag | Radek Tomecka | ||||
| Ivan Podrov | Martin Hub | ||||
| General George Deckert | Willem Dafoe | ||||
| NSA Agent Kyle Christopher Steele | Scott Speedman | ||||
| U.S. President James Sanford | Peter Strauss | ||||
| Zeke | Xzibit | ||||
| Charlie Mayweather | Sunny Mabrey | ||||
| Lola Jackson | Nona Gaye | ||||
| NSA Agent Meadows | Ramon De Ocampo | ||||
| Xiang XXX |
Donnie Yen | ||||
| Serena Unger XXX |
Deepika Padukone | ||||
| Becky Clearidge | Nina Dobrev | ||||
| Adele Wolff | Ruby Rose | ||||
| Talon | Tony Jaa | ||||
| Jane Marke | Toni Collette | ||||
| Harvard "Nicks" Zhou | Kris Wu | ||||
| Tennyson "Torch" | Rory McCann | ||||
| CIA Director Anderson | Al Sapienza | ||||
| Gina Roff | Ariadna Gutiérrez | ||||
| Hawk | Michael Bisping | ||||
| Ainsley | Hermione Corfield | ||||
| Red Erik | Andrey Ivchenko | ||||
| Neymar Jr. XXX |
Neymar | ||||
Crew
| Film | Director | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Cinematographer | Music | Editor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XXX | Rob Cohen | Rich Wilkes | Neal H. Moritz | Dean Semler | Randy Edelman | Chris Lebenzon Joel Negron Paul Rubell |
| XXX: State of the Union | Lee Tamahori | Simon Kinberg | Neal H. Moritz Arne L. Schmidt |
David Tattersall | Marco Beltrami | Mark Goldblatt Todd E. Miller Steven Rosenblum |
| XXX: Return of Xander Cage | D. J. Caruso | F. Scott Frazier | Joe Roth Jeff Kirschenbaum Vin Diesel Samantha Vincent |
Russell Carpenter | Brian Tyler Robert Lydecker |
Jim Page Vince Filippone |
| XXX 4 | Derek Haas[9] | TBA | Yoshiki[10] | TBA |
Reception
Box office performance
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Box office ranking | Budget | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories |
Worldwide | All time North America |
All time worldwide | ||||
| XXX | August 9, 2002 | $142,109,382 | $135,339,000 | $277,448,382 | #334 | #416 | $70 million | [11] |
| XXX: State of the Union | April 29, 2005 | $26,873,932 | $44,148,761 | $71,022,693 | #2,675 | N/A | $60 million[failed verification] | [12] |
| XXX: Return of Xander Cage | January 20, 2017 | $44,898,413 | $301,065,438 | $345,963,851 | #1,750 | #322 | $85 million | [13] |
| Total | $213,881,727 | $480,553,199 | $694,434,926 | $215 million | [3] | |||
Critical and public response
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| XXX | 48% (179 reviews)[14] | 48 (33 reviews)[15] | A−[16] |
| XXX: State of the Union | 17% (137 reviews)[17] | 37 (31 reviews)[18] | B+[16] |
| XXX: Return of Xander Cage | 45% (140 reviews)[19] | 42 (25 reviews)[20] | A−[16] |
The first film received mixed reviews from critics. Roger Ebert called it "as good as a James Bond movie".[21] Adam Smith of Empire magazine called the movie, "Sporadically entertaining, but seriously hampered by a very choppy screenplay", and rating it three out of five stars.[22] The film was nominated for a Razzie Award for Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted Movie, but lost to Jackass: The Movie.
The second film in the series was panned by critics, Boo Allen of the Denton Record Chronicle called it "a chubby, surly, incomprehensible action hero".[23] Brian Orndorf of FilmJerk.com compared watching the film to running "headfirst at top speed into a brick wall".[24] David Hiltbrand of the Philadelphia Inquirer said "the plot swings between pathetically implausible and aggressively stupid".[25] Some critics liked the film. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called it "that rare B movie that's rooted in gut-level stirrings of power and retaliation".[26] Paul Arendt of the BBC said, "Viewed on its own trashy terms, it succeeds brilliantly".[27]
The third film received mixed reviews from critics. Dan Jolin of Empire magazine said, "We've seen all these stunts pulled before, and seen them done better, but there's some pleasure to be had here — even if it's of the extremely guilty kind.", and rating it three out of five stars.[28] Andrew Lapin of Uproxx gave the film a negative review, saying: "There is an intellectual argument to be made in favor of the Fast & Furious franchise, which features diverse casts, operatic plotlines, and cartoon setpieces that often look like a child assembled them out of Hot Wheels sets. xXx is aiming for a much lower bar, striving only to be marketable, not inventive. The series is no longer interested in aping James Bond, lacking as it does a decent gadget or supervillain and often highlighting the sidekicks at the expense of Xander himself."[29]
Video games
A video game featuring Xander Cage was produced for Game Boy Advance, released in North America and Europe in 2002.[30] The GameBoy Advance game received a rating of E in North America and 3+ rating in Europe unlike the film's PG-13 rating. In 2004, a XXX game was in development for the Xbox by Warthog Games, but it was cancelled; a prototype was leaked onto the Hidden Palace website in February 2022.[31]
References
- ^ "XXX (2002)". British Board of Film Classification. August 9, 2002. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ "XXX: State of the Union (2005)". British Board of Film Classification. April 29, 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ a b "xXx Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ "'xXx: The Return of Xander Cage' Synopsis Sounds Exciting if You've Never Seen a 'xXx' Movie". Collider. February 11, 2016.
- ^ Frater, Patrick (September 6, 2018). "'xXx 4' Expands H Collective and iQIYI's Hollywood-China Funding Pact (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ Amanda N'Duka (November 20, 2018). "Vin Diesel-Led 'xXx 4' Adds 'The Green Hornet's Jay Chou". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "Yoshiki composes music for the films xXx 4 and Spycies, as X Japan finish up first album in more than 22 years". Consequence of Sound. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
- ^ Blabbermouth (2019-01-22). "X JAPAN's YOSHIKI To Create Theme Song for New 'xXx 4' Film Starring VIN DIESEL". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
- ^ "The H Collective Films". TheHCollectiveFilms. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ "Japanese Composer and Rock Star Yoshiki to Score xXx 4". ComingSoon. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ "XXX (2002))". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ "XXX: State of the Union (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ "XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "XXX". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ "XXX: reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c "CinemaScore". Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "XXX: State of the Union". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- ^ "XXX: State of the Union: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ "xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- ^ "XXX: Return of Xander Cage reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
- ^ "XXX". rogerebert.com. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ Adam Smith. "XXX (2002) review". Empire (film magazine). Retrieved July 24, 2016.
- ^ "ROTTEN TOMATOES: Just what we need, a chubby, surly, incomprehensible action hero". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.
- ^ Havens, Cassandra. "FilmJerk.com - Reviews - XXX: State of the Union". Archived from the original on October 20, 2006. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
- ^ David Hiltbrand. "David Hiltbrand Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ "Movie Review: XXX: State of the Union". Entertainment Weekly. May 4, 2005. Archived from the original on March 26, 2007.
- ^ Paul Arendt (April 28, 2005). "BBC - Movies - review - XXX: The Next Level". BBC.
- ^ Dan Jolin (18 January 2017). "xXx: Return Of Xander Cage Review". empireonline.com. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ Lapin, Andrew (January 20, 2017). "Vin Diesel Aims His Skateboard Low With 'xXx: Return Of Xander Cage'". Uproxx. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
- ^ "XXX Prices GameBoy Advance - Compare Loose, CIB & New Prices". PriceCharting.
- ^ "Hidden Palace". HiddenPalace.
External links
