325 replies to this topic

[Roebuck]

Originally posted by License To Kill
The thought of a Bond fan thinking that Vin Diesel has more charisma than Pierce is shocking and disgraceful. Let Vin go make his stupid XxX rip-off, I won't watch it, he won't make money off of me. I would not see XxX and never will.

Doesn't follow. I'm a bond fan but I'm also a consumer. I don't see why I should have loyalty to a brand or artist if they're not stumping up the goods for my hard earned cash. Yune was very good in DAD (imho). If he hadn't been in a Bond film would that make him a bad actor because he's been in 'Fast and The Furious' or 'Witchblade' ? Conversely, if Diesel had appeared in DAD would he suddenly become a good actor?

Once again this business of ''I haven't seen xXx but hate it anyway'' rears it's ugly head. There is just no point in entering a discussion with a closed mind.

[mccartney007]

I feel I should mention that the following opinions are not those of a Bond fan, but those of a film fan.

I consider the words "film" and "movie" to be two different things. A "movie" is simply and assembly line product of Hollywood that is used to make the individuals involved some cash. Throw something shiny and pointy in front of an audience and you've got their attention ...along with their dollar. A "film," on the other hand, isn't made just for money. A film has value. By those definitions, xXx is definately a movie.

Anyway....

I honestly rate xXx as the worst movie I've ever seen (it bumped Swordfish to the number two spot). The only gratification I got in watching it was knowing that I didn't pay any money to see it. In fact, I think xXx was so bad for my brain that it literally burst into flames. Relief only came once I dug my eyes out with a spoon and put out the fire with my own urine. xXx is nothing more than a product of the Hollywood money machine.

Vin Diesel isn't an actor -- he's a gas station employee who got lucky. Apparently the word "charisma" means "seems to have a mental disablity," and if that's the definition, then I will admit that Vin Diesel has a lot of charisma. Just saying his name makes me go half retarded. I think Rory summed it up best when he said, "...Vin Diesel epitomises, 'I think I'm cool.'" Personally, I think Vin Diesel is the prefect spokesman for the dumbing down of society. Everytime I see him or one of his movies, my brain begins to slowly melt inside my skull.

I don't think I've heard a positive comment about Vin Diesel, but I have heard several about Brosnan (from people of all ages, and non-Bond fans). DLibrasnow, you've said a couple of times that the James Bond films have ripped off many films, and yet you've only given one example, "North by Northwest". I don't think you can even call FRWL's sequence a rip-off. In NBNW, Cary Grant is assaulted by an airplane in a field. In FRWL, Connery is assaulted by a helicopter in a field. While similar, I would consider FRWL's sequence to be inspired by Hitchcock's NBNW sequence (speaking of Hitchcock, the 'love interest' in xXx is the daughter of the "Italian Hitchcock").

The fact that anyone even tries to compare Brosnan and Vin Diesel is absurd. They are two different types of men. All women have different tastes (although I won't comment on the types of people who have a 'thing' for Vin Diesel) and I think it's rather pointless to sit here and argue on who's better than the who. We all probably surround ourselves with people that have similar thoughts on things so using the "my friends and I think...." is pointless as well.

[Roebuck]

Originally posted by mccartney007
A "movie" is simply and assembly line product of Hollywood that is used to make the individuals involved some cash. Throw something shiny and pointy in front of an audience and you've got their attention ...along with their dollar. A "film," on the other hand, isn't made just for money. A film has value. By those definitions, xXx is definately a movie.

In a word - nonsense. Casablanca, Psycho and dozens of other pictures now hailed as classics were made as low budget entertainments. xXx is indeed just a fire and forget popcorn movie, but if you honestly class it as the worst movie you've ever seen count yourself lucky. Far worse dross has found it's way to your local multiplex and video stores. 'Pluto Nash' anyone?

[mccartney007]

Originally posted by Roebuck

Casablanca, Psycho and dozens of other pictures now hailed as classics were made as low budget entertainments.

Yes, but they offer more than just mindless entertainment, don't they?

[Loomis]

xXx was dire.

I kept an open mind - I didn't feel that liking xXx was disloyalty to the Church of Broccoli, and, after all, I'd paid for my ticket and wanted to enjoy the film - but I emerged from the cinema feeling much the same, I imagine, as mccartney007.

I don't propose to discuss whether this sorry waste of celluloid is among the worst movies of all time. It may or may not be better than, say, JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (another of last year's wretched viewing experiences), JUDGE DREDD, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, RAMBO III, SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL or WATERWORLD, but, as Dr Johnson said, there is no judging the point of precedence between a louse and a flea.

Suffice to say that, after xXx and THE SKULLS, I think I'd rather sit through everything in a Michael Winner retrospective than permit any more of my hard-earned cash to keep Rob Cohen in business.

[Roebuck]

Originally posted by mccartney007
Yes, but they offer more than just mindless entertainment, don't they?

Yup, but the great motion pictures are more often than not the ones conceived as mass market entertainment. For folks like me and the Mrs. who just want to sit in the dark with a bucket of popcorn and be thrilled. To differentiate between film and movies is just elitist tosh. Using an example close to home, Saltzman and Broccoli never set out to make art house fodder. They were hard nosed businessmen who earned a buck by giving cinema goers the thrills and glamour they wanted. Yet all these years later the early Bond films have achieved iconic status.

xXx is unlikely to ever be iconic. No, I'll stick my neck out and say that xXx will positively never be iconic. But it did offer an evenings undemanding entertainment. Also, many of the lessons it learned from Bond it learned well. There is a sequence where Xander witnesses the elimination of a team of scientists in their lab, killed by the potent nerve gas they themselves were creating. The set-up, I admit, is reminiscent of Moonraker. However there is a moment later on where he takes
retribution on the man responsible that is classic Bond. It's a pity that when Tamahori saw xXx he didn't take note of that scene instead of
adding more CGI and a parasailing sequence to DAD.

PS. Loomis - check out 'The Mechanic', a film about a hitman who takes on a young prot

[terminus]

Ok.

I just _had_ to weight in on this conversation.

I liked XXX and will go to see XXX 2 and XXX 3 when they come out. I got XXX on DVD as a belated christmas present from my boyfriend.

I am a Bond fan. I went to see Die Another Day five ( I repeat _5_ times at the cinema ) and I will go to see Bond 21 and Bond 22 when both of those come out.

What do I think ? Bond quite easily beats XXX on all counts.

My parents watched XXX and I asked them afterwards whether they thought it was a good movie.

My father detested it ( but he detests the Bond movies too ) whilst my Mom rated it as good, but not up to the standards of a Bond movie.

Right. I think that compairing XXX and Bond is wrong. Vin Diesel was so stoopid to compare the two. Any comparison was, unless XXX rocked the box office, going to create more PR for Bond than it was for XXX whilst simultaneously creating negative reaction from the Bond fans.

I liked the look of the movie and I think it holds up as a genre on its own. I would much rather see the XXX series continue than having the Jinx series being developed.

The real problem with XXX was that, at times, it tried to hard to be a Bond movie and failed. If it had tried to carve out its own identity ( and the boasting that Bond was outdated didn't help XXX ) then, I believe, it would have fared better.

I think Asia Argento and Vin Diesel gave good performances. Why does everyone rue Diesel's acting skills and simultaneously defend Denise Richard's performance in TWINE ? OK, neither of them are ever going to win any real awards for their work, but they also had to work with what the script gave them.

It's only partly their fault and they can only carry off **** lines to the best of their ability.

And Vin Diesel being gorgeous ? Of course he is. That two minutes with him in boxers ( :: will stop drooling :: ) ...

And don't judge someone's character by who they find attractive, mccartney007.

For instance. All men have different tastes too. I happen to be one of those men who find Vin Diesel to be gorgeous. I also happen to have a degree in higher mathematics and am studying for a degree in english.

[JackChase007]

XXX is simply mindless entertainment for the 21st century. Do I love it? No. Do I hate it? Not entirely. Hey - Sam Jackson was in it, and gave a damn better performance in it than he did in the latest Star Wars flop...

Where's the Shaft sequel that John Singleton promised us???

[Martini]

I

[ChandlerBing]

Diesel is such a pipsqueak he refuses to use his real name up on the screen. He looks like the person on the bottle of Mr. Clean. He's a frigging ex bouncer with a God complex, who thinks he's God's gift. Have not seen XXX, have no plans to see it. You only live once, and I don't want to waste my time seeing XXX. Bad enough I wasted time typing this post.

[DLibrasnow]

Well I think that xXx was the Best James Bond movie of 2002. That weak pretender Pierce Brosnan should hand over the crown to Vin.
DAD was one of the biggest waste of a couple of hours in 2002.

[Blofeld's Cat]

So far, I've attempted twice to see through this flick to the bitter end, but twice managed to find something better to do.

XXX must be code for MTV because thats how I saw it. One clip after another of pretentious over-stylised, steroid bulging, pop music pumping distractions. I gather there is a story hidden in all that noise somewhere.

More **** than class. More 0 than 007.

[Martini]

I never understood why Eon didn

[doublenoughtspy]

I waited til the DVD came out and luckily I had a free rental coupon so luckily I did not add to the bottom line of XXX.

I don't think I would have minded the XXX popularity as much if it hadn't been such a poor rip off in Bond. I watched it with my girlfriend and gave up after the 20th reference or so - explaining which Bond film they lifted bits from.

The bit in the beginning of killing a spy in a tuxedo, and the campaign of "Bond for a new generation" was the most painful.

Now I will agree that to an urban teenager who is into skating and video games - a 30 something multi-ethnic Vin Diesel will be much more easy to identify with and root for than an almost 50 year old Irishman.

Pierce has elegance, Vin has attitude.

Bond will continue, I doubt that XXX will last more than 3 films, if that.

[rafterman]

that is a great DS episode and just a true homage to Bond, anyone who hasn't, should see it, that's my favorite Bond parody, you get all the Trek actors pretending to be Bond like characters, with plenty of good Bond references and a bit on comparing real spy stuff in the Trek world to the 60s fiction....excellent...

[DLibrasnow]

[quote]Originally posted by Martini
I never understood why Eon didn

[Martini]

The story of FRWL based on Ian Flemings novel which came out in 1957. "North by Northwest" came out in 1959. The helicopter scene IS a homage because is very obcious for everyone what from it

[trs007]

Ok, here goes my 2 cents into this topic: I saw both movies and enjoyed them both. I was actually fortunate to attend the Royal Premiere in London for DAD (but that's another story)--point being I have been a die-hard Bond fan sicne the age of 9 and I am almost 40. I looked forward to XXX when the trailers started coming about and my wife and I were at XXX opening night. Was I offended at the shameless imitation--no, I was entertained. I enjoyed the film and when I listened hard enough, I though Randy Edelman's score was great. I am not sure I understand the hostility toward XXX. Did Our Man Flint bring that much originality to the spy genre in 1966? I don't believe it did, and I am willing to guess that fans don't hate Flint like they do XXX. I, for one, as a Bond fan, a spy movie fan and an action/adventure movie fan, am glad we have these offerings in between the lean 2 ( and now 3 ) year gaps between 007. I don't go expecting a cinematic masterpiece when I see a movie like XXX, just a fun romp to enjoy and be reminded of the countdown to the next Bond.

[DLibrasnow]

Personally I was offended by Our Man Flint...but not because of the shameless 007 rip-offs in that movie, but the bad hair styles and all that psychadelic stuff

[BONDFINESSE 007]

well i gave it a shot and tried to watch XXX, and i ran to the bathroom and started puking it was soooooooooooooooooo damn bad

[DanMan]

I actually rented XXX a few times but I cant bring myself to watch. I told my friend to strangle me if he ever sees me watch.

[booyeah_]

XXX was crap. It had a lot of ripoffs from Bond movies, especially Goldfinger. Staying at the top of the ceiling and falling down on the guard? Oh the things I do for my country?

Edited by booyeah_, 02 January 2004 - 12:23 AM.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by BONDFINESSE 007
well i gave it a shot and tried to watch XXX, and i ran to the bathroom and started puking it was soooooooooooooooooo damn bad

You must have really suffered during DAD

[Martini]

I love almost all films that steal from Bond, True Lies, Austin Powers, ... But they do it with respect. Thats the big difference. XXX steals everything and opens up the mouth than and wants to be better. You can

[rafterman]

you can't rip something off and then trash it at the same time, XXX alienated some hard core Bond fans with Deisel's comments about Bond, when he should have been telling people, "it's extreme Bond".....and since when have Bond films become a subgenre where it's common to hear comments like "the best Bond film this year was XXX" or "Thomas Crown".....no, the best and only Bond film this year was Die Another Day, whether you liked XXX better or not, it is not a Bond film...

[Von Hammerstein]

I thoroughly enjoyed xXx, I thought Vin Diesel was tough and amusing, they storyline was the usual meglomaniac out to destroy the wrold for his own twisted purposes. The only difference was the presentation. My wife summed it up as "James Bond with tattoos". I agreed and I thought the xXx franchise was going to give 007 a serious run for his money, but I realized how wrong I was once I saw DAD. Brosnan and EON hit that one out of the park. It was one of best Bond's I've seen in a very long time and eaisly Brosnan's best. So xXx will be an interesting diversion between Bond flicks, just like the Derek Flint, Matt Helm films of the sixties were. (Now we could only get them to make the xXx movies every two years on Bond's off year)

[kevrichardson]

I did not care for the film when it was released . Yet i have it to thank for the renewed interest in the real thing . James Bond! Thanks Vin !

[DanMan]

I just saw the first 5 minutes of Triple X when they kill the secret agent at the rock concert and it was the most stupid thing i've ever seen in my life. It look like a low-budget B-picture. And that rock music in the backround is so annoying. (Dont acuse me of being old cause i'm 14).

[univex]

XXX isn

[Agent 0011]

I left XXX half way thru it....i thought it was lame...Vin Diesel cannot act, he is on scream for the presence of his muscles....when over 20 XXX movies are made...books written, web sites like this one devoted totally to it and its loved worldwide...well then maybe they can start to relate it to Bond....as of now, its not even close to being worthy of that. I'm 20....so it failed in the attempt to be aimed at "my age range"... w/ ya all the way univex....