XXX: State of the Union

XXX: State of the Union
Xxx2poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLee Tamahori
Written bySimon Kinberg
Based onCharacters
by Rich Wilkes
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDavid Tattersall
Edited by
Music byMarco Beltrami
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • April 29, 2005 (2005-04-29)
Running time
101 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$113 million[2][3]
Box office$71.1 million[2]

XXX: State of the Union (released as XXX2: The Next Level and XXX: State of Emergency outside North America) is a 2005 American action spy film directed by Lee Tamahori and a sequel to the 2002 film XXX. It is the second installment of the XXX film series, and was produced by Revolution Studios for Columbia Pictures.

Vin Diesel and Rob Cohen, the lead actor and director of the original, had signed onto a sequel before the first film had opened, but both dropped out as Diesel disliked the script,[4] while Cohen worked on Stealth. Cohen remained as an executive producer. Ice Cube took over the lead role as the new Triple X agent and Tamahori was brought in to direct, following the huge commercial success of the James Bond film Die Another Day, which he directed. Two different scripts were prepared for the film, and the one written by Simon Kinberg was selected; the other script featured a radically different plot.

State of the Union was a box-office bomb and it was criticized by reviewers, mainly for the performances, an illogical story, and overuse of CGI-based visual effects for most of the action sequences. State of the Union is the last film in the XXX film series to be distributed by Columbia Pictures, as Paramount Pictures became the distributor for its future films, starting with Return of Xander Cage in 2017.

Plot

In Virginia, unknown assailants breach into an NSA bunker beneath the horse ranch headed by Agent Augustus Gibbon who fends off the attackers before barely escaping. Toby Shavers, Gibbons' assistant, informs him that with the attack on the NSA bunker, Sgt. Alabama "Bama" Cobb also had Xander Cage apparently killed in Bora Bora. To find a new substitute, Gibbons meets with Lieutenant Darius Stone, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, who is currently serving 9 of his 20-year sentence in Leavenworth for disobeying orders and breaking the jaw of ex-four star General George Deckert, who is now the Secretary of Defence.

Gibbons helps Stone break out. Stone meets with Zeke, his old partner in crime, and Lola Jackson, his ex-girlfriend, who now runs an exotic car shop. Stone is instructed to recover a hard drive from the NSA bunker, and he manages to escape NSA Agent Kyle Steele. Gibbons is attacked in his house and apparently killed, with Deckert and Sergeant Cobb covering up the evidence. Stone meets up with Gibbons' contact, Charlie Mayweather, to get information. Stone goes to her safe house but is framed for the murder of General Jack Pettibone; Mayweather is revealed to be involved.

The police arrive, and Steele arrives to talks with Stone before escaping. Shavers hacks into the Pentagon to retrieve Deckert's plans. Stone infiltrates Deckert's troops aboard an aircraft carrier and discovers Gibbons alive, being held prisoner. Stone's presence is alerted by Mayweather, forcing Stone to escape. After retrieving the plans, Stone learns that Deckert is not only corrupt, but is planning a coup against President James Sanford.

Stone makes contact with Steele and shows him the plans. When Steele notes that his plans are not clear proof, Stone leaves in frustration, to Steele's initial disbelief. During a conversation with Deckert, Steele realizes Stone was right. He finds Stone and tells him that Deckert wants to kill Sanford and his successors so he can take Sanford's place as President, in opposition to Sanford's current plans to dismantle various military branches to focus on foreign aid.

Unable to trust legitimate law enforcement, Stone, Steele, and Shavers enlist the aid of Zeke and his crew. Together, they rob an civilian truck secretly hauling guns and equipment for the Department of Homeland Security under the guise of a cheese truck. They end up hijacking a tank, and Stone helps Steele infiltrate the Capitol building. A shootout starts, and Gibbons kills Mayweather. Deckert and Cobb abduct Sanford while he is making the State of the Union Address. They escape on a bullet train. Jackson arrives with a car, and Stone uses it to infiltrate the train. He engages and kills Cobb before engaging Deckert, while Steele extracts Sanford. Stone jumps out after Gibbons derails and destroys the train, killing Deckert.

The story is covered up, and Deckert is buried and branded as a hero. Sanford awards Steele and the unknown soldier (Stone) the Medal of Honor, and Stone goes back to his former lifestyle. In the now-rebuilt NSA Headquarters, Gibbons, Steele, and Shavers discuss what kind of person the next Triple X agent should be.

Cast

Soundtrack

A soundtrack containing hip hop and alternative rock was released on April 26, 2005, through Jive Records. It peaked at #117 on the Billboard 200, #48 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and #5 on the Top Soundtracks chart.

Sequel

Reception

Box office

XXX: State of the Union grossed $26.9 million in the United States and Canada and $44.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $71.1 million, against a reported production budget of $60 million.[2] According to The Wrap.com the production budget was a reported $87 million, but Revolution Studios spent a total of $113.1 million.[3][5]

It opened on April 29, 2005 and grossed $12.7 million in its opening weekend, finishing third at the box office.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 17%, based on 137 reviews, with an average rating of 3.84/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Even more absurd and implausible than the first xXx movie, State of the Union is less inspired and technically competent than its predecessor."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 37%, based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[7] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F.[8]

Boo Allen of the Denton Record Chronicle called Ice Cube's XXX character "a chubby, surly, incomprehensible action hero".[9] Brian Orndorf of FilmJerk.com compared watching the film to running "headfirst at top speed into a brick wall".[10] David Hiltbrand of the Philadelphia Inquirer said "the plot swings between pathetically implausible and aggressively stupid".[11] Some critics liked the film. Mack Bates of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel praised Ice Cube's "trademark charisma and street sensibility,"[12] while Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called it "that rare B movie that’s rooted in gut-level stirrings of power and retaliation".[13] Paul Arendt of the BBC said, "Viewed on its own trashy terms, it succeeds brilliantly".[14]

References

  1. ^ "XXX 2 - THE NEXT LxxcEVEL (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2005-04-04. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
  2. ^ a b c "XXX: State of the Union (2005)". The Numbers. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Lang, Brent (September 2, 2011). "'Gigli's' Real Price Tag — Or, How Studios Lie About Budgets". TheWrap.com. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "Good Move! Vin Diesel turns down 'xXx 2: State of the Union'". The Movie Blog. 16 June 2004. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Studios fudge numbers when it comes to budgets". Reuters. 2 September 2011.
  6. ^ "XXX: State of the Union (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media.
  7. ^ "XXX: State of the Union reviews". Metacritic.
  8. ^ "Cinemascore".
  9. ^ "ROTTEN TOMATOES: Just what we need, a chubby, surly, incomprehensible action hero". Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.
  10. ^ "Reviews - XXX: State of the Union". FilmJerk.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-20.
  11. ^ http://ae.philly.com/entertainment/ui/philly/movie.html?id=301309&reviewId=17886[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=322097[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ Owen Gleiberman (4 May 2005). "Movie Review: XXX: State of the Union". Entertainment Weekly.
  14. ^ Paul Arendt (28 April 2005). "XXX2: The Next Level". BBC.

External links

Information

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