|
 Movie
B+ |
Video A | Audio A
| Extras B+
Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas, Samuel L.
Jackson
director Rob Cohen | Columbia Pictures & Revolution Studios
2002 | Action | PG-13 | 124 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-9
anamorphic
widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio
|
Dolby Digital 5.1
Summary: xXx (or "Triple X") is
non-stop action film about a new breed of special agents. In order to infiltrate
an underground group of terrorists in Europe, the National Security Agency
(NSA) resorts to a radically new approach of hiring underground con
artists and thugs. Vin Diesel stars as Xander Cage, a outlaw
thrill-seeker who's nearly done it all, but is still at large. NSA
agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) captures Xander and puts him through a
series of tests. Xander pass them with flying colors, and with some
strong convincing on agent Gibbon's part, Xander relunctantly accepts his
assignment in Europe and works under the codename "XXX" (or
"triple X"). With his background in underground world, he
quickly earns the trust of a crime lord and infiltrates the underground
society.
"Shaken and Stirred"
xXx lives up to its promise of non-stop action, with
heart-stopping stunts and jaw-dropping action sequences. Though
beyond the novel concept of using outlaws as secret agents, xXx is
like many other spy-action movies (its not that far off of the James Bond
series). But the action sequences are irresistibly and gratuitously
good. Action fans will gravitate to xXx for these attributes
alone. And there's nothing wrong with that. With age, I find
myself enjoying mindless action flicks more and more. Not that I'm
saying xXx is a mindless film.
Special Features: director's commentary, 11
deleted scenes with optional director commentary; "xXx: A
Filmmaker's Diary" documentary; "Diesel Powered"
featurette; "Building Speed: The Vehicles of xXx"
featurette; "Designing the World of xXx" featurette;
"The GTO is Back" featurette; "Visual Effects How
To's"; Gavin Rossdale "Adrenaline" music video, and
filmographies
DVD-ROM features: "Pontiac: The GTO is
back" and other weblinks
DVD released on 12/31/2002 | Reviewed 1/19/2003
List $27.96 | online $17.99 | order from Amazon.com,
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Additional Notes: Unless we specify otherwise, the
video and audio quality are very good when their grades are "A-"
or better. Only the highest number of channels of surround sound
format is listed (e.g., Dolby Digital 5.1). If there are both Dolby
Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, then both are listed. All
DVD-Video discs are backwards compatible with stereo-only playback
systems.
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Editor@TimeForDVD.com.
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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four
B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio
rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year
2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.
| 
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