XXX - State of the Union (Widescreen Edition) | 
| Director: Lee Tamahori
Actors: Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Peter Strauss
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $14.93 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  74 reviews
Sales Rank: 37101
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 101
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: COLD10206D
ISBN: 1404974539
UPC: 043396102064
EAN: 9781404974531
Theatrical Release Date: April 29, 2005
Release Date: July 26, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
With a core audience of gameboys and hot-rodders aged 25 and under, xXx: State of the Union is the kind of action movie that requires literally no thought to enjoy. With Vin Diesel's original character just killed in Bora Bora (for details, see the uncensored unrated director's cut of xXx), Ice Cube steps in to play bad-ass, and the whole franchise takes on a hip-hop edge that's almost admirably absurd. The asinine plot is anarchy in Washington, D.C., as an insanely hawkish Secretary of State (Willem Dafoe) plots a Capitol coup just as the President (Peter Strauss, playing it straight) is giving his state-of-the-union address. All of this is prefaced by Cube's recruitment as a former Navy SEAL turned new-xXx, escaping from jail (Dafoe's character put him there), hooking up with an old flame who runs a chop-shop full of the world's hottest wheels, and reuniting with his old commander (Samuel L. Jackson) for a bullet-train climax that feels like Mission Impossible Lite. You could argue that Diesel's the smartest guy in the franchise for cashing out early, but xXx: State of the Union gets the job done in passable fashion, with action veteran Lee Tamahori delivering the goods while he waits for a grown-up script to come along. --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
Nsa agent augustus gibbons fresh off the success of his last renegade recruitment once again finds himself in need of an outsider. Gibbons & his new agent also code-named xxx must track a dangerous military splinter group that is conspiring to overthrow the u.S. Government in the nations capital. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 06/27/2006 Starring: Ice Cube Willem Dafoe Run time: 100 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Lee Tamahori
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| Customer Reviews: Read 69 more reviews...
 State of Confusion & Convolution November 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I haven't seen the original "xXx" , but I'm doing my best not to be prejudiced by the lazy mediocrity that is its sequel. As big and competitive as the modern action/adventure genre is, "State of the Union" brings surprisingly little to the table, with promises of big fights, big guns, big shootouts, and big excitement left unfulfilled by a director (Lee Tamahori, " Die Another Day" ) who seems to have thought that simply putting rapper/actor Ice Cube ("Three Kings") into the starring role would be good enough to account for everything the film lacks. When judged against everything else that was and is on the market, "Union" brought a peashooter to a gunfight and was swiftly and rightfully forgotten by most folks.
The story: when the xXx program is infiltrated by an insurrectionary splinter faction headed by a corrupt general (Willem Dafoe, "Spider-Man" ), a new agent is chosen in the form of an incarcerated Navy SEAL (Ice Cube). With aid from both new and returning allies, he must uncover the insurgents from within to thwart a plot to overthrow the US government and assassinate the president.
As I understand it, the original film's premise was to mix action with extreme sports. "State of the Union" has no such foundation; it's simply your run-of-the-mill "gotta-stop-the-bad-guys" take that has been done about a thousand times throughout cinema history. Absolutely nothing about the film stands out: no high-risk stunts, no extraordinary special effects, no revolutionary characters...nothing. I can't help but go on about how little action the film has to show: there are approximately two hand-to-hand fights, about the same number of shootouts, a car chase or two, and a somewhat cool encounter between two tanks - almost completely by the book. Ice Cube makes a decent (if somewhat stereotyped) action hero, but with so little to work with, he's got no chance to live up to Vin Diesel.
There's nothing much to fall back on: with the performance of Samuel Jackson, there's nothing beyond decent that Dafoe, Scott Speedman ("Underworld"), Peter Strauss ("Men Don't Tell"), Xzibit, or Nona Gaye ("Ali") bring to the table, and there's no meaningful underlying message or even particularly good humor to divert our attention. While the movie is competently made, technically, it feels nothing short of toothless: before the end of the first half, you'll have seen just about everything there is to see, and unless the producers choose both a different star and a more competent writer, there'll be little to look forward to for the inevitable "xXx 3" .
Unless you're a fan of either Ice Cube or Xzibit (or a particularly diehard fan of "Sam the man"), there'll be no need to pick up this poorly-conceived actioneer. The two stars you see at the top of this review acknowledge that the film was shot in English and was in focus; if I were basing my review on how memorable the flick was, it'd get less than one star.
 Great May 8, 2008
I have to say it. Better Than The Original. More action, cool tech and a brand new XXX. The story was also very captivating.
 Ice Cube as XXX March 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Suspend disbelief, or Alter your mental state, and roll with it. The plot is not particularly believable, but Ice Cube is the man on screen. His attitude and person take over the movie, and he makes up for major plot holes in the film. This one cannot be taken as realistically (?) as Van Diesel's XXX (Unrated Director's Cut), but this movie is fun and entertaining.
If you think of the film as Friday Collection (Friday / Next Friday / Friday After Next) meets XXX, its all good. However I will watch anything with Ice Cube in the flick. I think he was stretching it a bit on this one, but countless scenes compensate for the unbelievable aspects. Have a Margarita, and roll with the inconsistencies. The action and Tank Jacking are worth it.
 How many levels of suck are there? January 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My brother bought me this DVD as a gag gift. I would have to say GAG fits my description of this movie very, very well. Firstly I should note that I wasn't a huge fan of XXX with Vin Diesel, but it is an Oscar winner compared to XXX: State of the Union. This movie was so ridiculous that it was down right funny. There were times I was laughing so hard I had to excuse myself to the lavatory.
Now for some reason good old Vin was not in this sequel. So who do we get to replace Vin? Ice Cube, yes Ice Cube. I don't know about anyone else, but it seemed like Ice Cube was lost this entire movie. As for the physical action he wasn't bad, but he just seemed to dim witted to know what was going on in this "want to be" 24 storyline.
There were things also that made me laugh so hard I was in pain. I also know that this wasn't the intention of the movie makers. Also general observations I made about my reaction to this film....
1)The CGI was so obnoxious in this movie it looked like a Playstation game.
2)In (at least) one of the stunt scenes an action figure is used. (Remember motorboat).
3)Ice Cube quotes 2Pac in the movie, too bad he can't act as good as 2Pac.
4)Helicopters are silent right before you jump on one.
5)Ice Cube is released from jail to save the USA, but never gets a pardon.
6)Ice Cube is supposed to save the USA.
7)The editing in this movie is worst that an Ed Wood movie.
8)Ice Cube made Vin Diesel look like Tom Hanks or Morgan Freeman.
9)Has Samuel L. Jackson made another good movie besides Pulp Fiction and the Star Wars prequels?
10)The President of the United States' "secret" train runs juxtaposition to I-95 or some other public interstate.
11) Ice Cube can jump off a train that is going 260 mph and fall over 100 feet and still dive perfectly into the water.
12) Ice Cube was in prison for almost ten years but has no problem understanding high tech weapons in mere minutes.
13)This movie really wanted to be a 007 film or an episode of 24.
14)The movie was made to promote a soundtrack.
15)Street thugs led by Xzibit can take on USA military intelligence.
16)The CGI was so obnoxious in this movie it looked like a cartoon.
I could go on, but I won't. This movie was just a poor excuse to cash in the XXX franchise, if there is even still a franchise after this bomb. It was also a poor excuse to blow stuff up and make an action move. Perhaps if this movie was just called State of the Union and no reference to XXX maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, nah.
As for entertainment, I had plenty of laughs watching this movie. I thought this movie was going to be bad, but I had no idea how hideous it really was going to be. Since Vin Diesel was the first XXX and Ice Cube was the second, maybe Tom Green can be the third. In conclusion, Showgirls has more depth than XXX: State of the Union.
High Gloss, Low substance February 14, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Watching Ice Cube play the hard guy would-be spy makes you realise - wow! Vin Diesel actually DID have charisma after all!
All pretensions to the part being about spying and stealth are out of the window - the first movie had an appeal of being like a Bond movie on steroids; This one is just action, and could be any action franchise a few movies in. In fact, in terms of substance this could easily have been direct to video for all the weight the star and story carry... however, there are bangs for your buck on display here.. the actions scenes are as big budget as they are ludicrous. The opening scene has some promise with Samuel Jackson taking on the bad guys in his own headquarters, but when he steps into the wierd custom job car you know there is a franchise identity crisis on the way - is this XXX or Fast and Furious 4??
In short, this is brainless action - budget is on the screen, but not with the script. Ice Cube plods through the role giving it no heart, panache, or even self knowing parody. Daniel Defoe and Samuel Jackson should know better.
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