XXX - Blu-ray review

A couple years ago I reviewed "xXx" for this website. I wasn't very kind to the film. In fact, I gave the film a value score of ‘3.' My quote for that review was simply "This is a good example of how a first-rate DVD should be made, but a bad example of how to make a first-rate film." Ouch. That day was January 9th, 2003. Fast forward almost three and a half years later and Vin Diesel's "xXx" ended up back on my review plate. This time it sits mocking me as a launch title for the fledgling Blu-Ray format. Homage needs to be paid to my original synopsis of the DVD release. This time the quote is going to be "This is a bad example of how a new format should be marketed, and still a bad example of how to make a first-rate film." I know, it seems like I am being lazy about this review or just mocking myself. However, to be a good sport I will completely revisit the film for a new review. I didn't really like the old review and besides, maybe the film grew on me.

Or maybe not. Years and years ago I predicted that Vin Diesel would become a big star. This was on my way out of an empty theater and seeing "Pitch Black." Good film and Vin seemed like he was destined for moviestardom. Now, Vin is a star and he has made a couple of missteps in his career. "xXx" is one such misstep. This is a ridiculously bad film. To watch this film you are required to shut your brain off and refrain from using any inkling of intelligence. You must believe that a heat seeking missile has the ability to lock in on a lit cigarette and not the overheated machine gun barrels scattered about in the same room. You are required to believe that an avalanche will destroy building structures, but allow for a flimsy antenna to remain standing. You need to think that old rickety wooden buildings are highly combustible and you are also expected to believe that Vin or his agent decided this film was a good idea. Apparently, Vin wised up and refused to star in the sequel. His character was handled in the short film "The Death of Xander Cage." You can see that on the standard DVD and not the Blu-Ray, but we'll get into that later.

"xXx" was Sony pictures attempt at creating a rival franchise for the James Bond franchise. It was about an extreme sports star who also dabbled in illegal methods of entertainment and was notorious in his non-sports stunts, like stealing a Congressman's Corvette and jumping it off a bridge. Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is then captured by the NSA (National Security Administration) and becomes secret agent XXX under the watchful eye of Agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson). He then has to infiltrate a Russian terror organization's ranks and figure out what evil deeds they are up to. Of course, what would a James Bond clone be without a Bond Girl (Asia Argento) and a tech savvy inventor (Michael Roof) who makes all the nifty gadgets for our super suave agent who drinks his alcohol shaken AND stirred. That was perhaps the best joke in the film. Hopefully, I didn't spoil it for you.

The film is all about over the top stunts, explosions and action. I will give it credit for being action filled and at times I found myself actually enjoying what was going on in front of me. Then, of course, something completely ridiculous and absurd would happen and I'd go back to just waiting for the pain to end. It is a rare film watching experience when you anxiously await the closing credits. However, "xXx" is a film that gives you this feeling. The screenwriters decided to think of some of the most stunning and incredible stunts they could imagine and write a story around it. The concept of a shady criminal becoming a CIA agent is a good idea. Vin Diesel and the idea of Xander Cage is good too. The film started off nicely. I loved the diner scene. It showed intelligence and wit. Then, the downward trend of the film getting sillier and sillier began to occur. Vin tries his best to save the movie and go through the film with a straight face. Danny Trejo even shows up for a short role and tries to help out. In the end, it is just a wreck and you eagerly await the Jaws of Life to rip you away from it.

Video:

Had I been reviewing a standard definition DVD, I would be proclaiming this to be an incredibly detailed image and perhaps one of the best I'd ever seen. By saying that, you can feel confident that Blu-Ray does present a noticeable visual improvement over the SD-DVD releases. There are a few scenes where the picture looks absolutely stunning. Then, there are scenes that appear blurry and somewhat out of focus when compared to those that were absolutely stunning. I've seen this inconsistency on practically every Blu-Ray disc I've watched. There are moments when the visual transfer of Blu-Ray can almost rival what I've seen on the better HD-DVD releases and there are moments when it barely transcends what I've seen on the older SD-DVD titles. An important thing to remember is that Blu-Ray is a baby. It needs to be nurtured and cared for and then, it will grow up and be a mature format that impresses those of us that watched it grow up.

"xXx" is presented in a 2.35:1 transfer. I find it very nice to not have to type the word anamorphic all of the time. That is one of the great things about Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. The transfers are all native widescreen. No more of that "Enhanced for widescreen TVs" labeling. Colors are bright and colorful. Flesh tones are superb. So far, Blu-Ray does present great contrast and coloring. Shadow detail and black levels are good as well, though a couple scenes appeared a bit more gray than black. Detail, as mentioned, is all over the place. One moment it amazes and the next minute it doesn't quite amaze. Much of this may be due to the MPEG-2 compression or the current space limitations of the single layer. It may also be due to the young nature of the format. I'm not scolding Blu-Ray for these shortcomings (except maybe the dual-layer problems), but just making you, the reader, aware that Blu-Ray is in a state similar to where DVD was when it was just a baby.

Sound:

I continue to really enjoy Blu-Ray's decision to support Uncompressed PCM 5.1 audio as its ‘use it if you can support it' sound format. Dolby Digital 5.1 is provided as well and it too sounds quite good. My ears seemed to think that the Dolby Digital track was identical to the SD-DVD Dolby Digital track in an A-B comparison, though the volume level was slightly different. However, the PCM mix was all about excitement. Every silly and over-the-top moment sounded spectacular. There is a wide range of directional effects, ambient effects and in-your-face sound effects that just make this an exciting film to listen to. Dialogue is crisp and clear, though during some of the more poignant moments of the film's audio presentation words do tend to get drowned out by the big explosions and such. I have not yet decided if this was bad or good considering the film's writing.

All six channels are heavily used by both the PCM track and the Dolby Digital track. The avalanche scene rumbles deeply and challenges any .1 LFE channel to try to keep up. The combustible wooden building scenes feature gunfire from many directions and the sound field envelopes the viewer in gunfire. The films pulsing musical score beats heavily throughout the film. It is just a shame that your eyes are tortured while your ears are rewarded. I found myself loving the soundtrack to "House of Flying Daggers" and while "xXx" is not quite as powerful and amazing as that soundtrack, the uncompressed PCM mix is a huge step over the previous DVD soundtrack, especially at higher volume levels.

Extras:

The biggest complaint I have about Blu-Ray right now is the complete lack of supplements. HD-DVD is doing a great job of adding value-added content ("Cinderella Man" and "Jarhead" add supplements from the costlier multi-disc editions) and releases are slowly starting to show HD-DVD only features. They are trying to make that new format a worthy replacement of the old standard. Blu-Ray, on the other hand, seems like the next generation of Superbit releases. You get a higher quality transfer of the film, but no supplements. Will there be a Blu-Ray Deluxe?

I do not own a copy of the most recent release of "xXx," as owning one copy of the film on DVD seemed to be enough for me. There was a bit of interest in knowing how Xander Cage died and sometimes a temptation did exist to go find out. The Blu-Ray release of "xXx" I preordered when I blindly expected all of the recent supplements to appear on it. I didn't do my homework and was rewarded with no special features and still no first hand account on what happened to Xander Cage. Sony gets my money and I get no satisfaction. There are a couple previews on the disc as a sort of apology from Sony, but deep down I know their motivation is to simply sell me more Blu-Ray discs and then make me buy them again when the dual layered releases hit the market.

Closing Thoughts:

I enjoy about fifteen total minutes of "xXx" and even half of that time I feel like the filmmakers are purposely insulting my intelligence. The film is noisy and in-your-face. If you are looking for pure mindless fun that cares nothing for a screenplay or sensibility, then perhaps "xXx" is a movie for you. Popcorn movies entertain me as much as the next guy, but I don't enjoy being insulted by my entertainment. Sony has delivered us the best looking transfer of "xXx" yet. Not the best looking Vin film. That award would go to "Chronicles of Riddick" on HD-DVD. If you have that luxury, I'd recommend putting your money there. The sound is very good on this disc. I'm really loving the uncompressed PCM tracks. The picture goes from very good to looking more like upconverted standard definition DVD. What is almost as insulting as the cigarette seeking camcorder launched missile is the complete lack of supplements. I would have been much more forgiving if Blu-Ray were releasing 2-disc sets and charging five dollars more.