XXX (2002)

''Dude, stop thinking Prague police and start thinking PlayStation,'' says Vin Diesel's bald badass to a Czech cop in the film XXX. ''Blow s--- up!'' It's a line that's supposed to paint Diesel as a new breed of action hero for the 21st century. Of course, it's also cheesy as hell. And so goes ''Fast and the Furious'' director Rob Cohen's entire escapade of excess. As a rebel thrill seeker-turned-secret agent, Diesel drops out of a plane on a snowboard, rail-rides on a silver platter, and -- in one bit of Fonzie-inspired mayhem -- jumps over an exploding building on a motorcycle. But for a supposedly fresh and exciting take on the spy genre, ''XXX'' is actually quite stunning in its unoriginality.

As Xander Cage, Diesel may be more tattooed bad boy than standard spook, but his mission -- stop an Eastern Bloc renegade madman from unleashing a weapon of mass destruction -- is as conventional as they come. Of course no one accused this movie of being subtle. ''I like anything fast enough to do something stupid in,'' Cage boasts at one point. In ''XXX,'' Mr. Diesel has found just the right vehicle.

You Might Also Like

• Movie Review XXX (Aug 09, 2002) | Lisa Schwarzbaum
• All About XXX
• Movie News A look at the most ludicrous movie-awards campaigns (Mar 08, 2002) | Karen Valby
• Movie Commentary EW's Lisa Schwarzbaum names 2002's 5 worst movies (Jan 25, 2002)
• DVD News Which movie blockbuster will win the DVD war? | Brian Hiatt
• News Roundup Rob Cohen being wooed for ''Mummy 3'' | Mike Bruno