Hey folks, Harry here... Had a friend over tonight and watched as she spilt about six gallons of drool over the thought of Vin Diesel - specifically her memories of Vin at BNAT 1 in tears over the crowd reaction - and how that warmed her heart and created undying love and adulation for the man whose voice is not spoken, but forged. Here's another look that paints a pretty picture of xXx...

Hey Harry,

I managed to sneak a look at a work print of XXX today. We were told that the sound was a bit off and that the credits weren't there. As far as the sound goes, all I noticed was that a few lines were missing, but seriously... we ain't here to hear the fancy dialogue.

XXX is all about Vin Diesel being the badass we all know he is, and goddamn does this movie deliver. I don't know if Rob Cohen is improving as a director, but I'll be damned if he hasn't raised himself many notches when it comes to working with Vin Diesel.

The plot is fairly simple, the NSA is trying to get info on a wealthy anarchist, Yorgi (Martin Czokas), who they believe plans to use biological weapons against the world. The problem is that agents manage to get killed on the job. In comes Sam "Bad Motherfucker" Jackson with the idea to send in a US criminal who would 1) have the skills to do the job, and 2) be able to blend in with said bad guys.

Everything that happens afterwards are a series of situations that just let the star of the film do what he does best, eat the scene like mad.

As far as comparing this film with The Fast and the Furious, there are a few things that make this superior. The first is that the pacing is right where it should be, no awkward moments of forced dialogue before we get to Vin again. It's not that the other characters in the film are that interesting, they aren't, they don't have to be. Secondly, I think the action feels a lot more dynamic, and boy is it all shot beautifully. wait'll you see a certain scene that'll give snowboarders everywhere sweaty palms. Third, as much as I enjoyed BT's techno-score for F&F, I far prefered the moods that Randy Edelman was able to create combined with the electronic sounds of the film.

Quick re-cap. Vin Diesel is cool, the stunts are cool, the tech stuff is cool, the look of the film is fantastic, and by the way, does Vin Diesel have a clause in his contract that says he shall always return home to a party in any film he's in? Just something to ponder over.

Anonymous Seattle Resident