XXX

XXX (or xXx or Triple X) is a 2002 American action, thriller film directed by mh:awfulmovies:Rob Cohen, produced by Neal H. Moritz and written by Rich Wilkes. This is the very first installment in the XXX film series.

Plot
Vin Diesel stars as former extreme sports athlete Xander "XXX" Cage, notorious for his death-defying public stunts. Betting he can succeed where other conventional spies have failed, Xander is recruited by NSA Agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to become a different kind of undercover agent. Enlisted for a dangerous covert mission, he must use all his extreme skills to combat a clever, organized, and ruthless enemy far beyond the scope of his experience.

Good Qualities

 * 1) The idea about the film about the three X's going on a dangerous mission to infiltrate a group of potential Russian terrorists in Central Europe is pretty decent, even against the Russian standards.
 * 2) It's a decent yet Die Hard and James Bond-style story that has decent yet unique ideas.
 * 3) Epic soundtrack that was performed by Randy Edelman, with a mix of rock music, dramatic themes.
 * 4) Xander Cage is such a badass, memorable, and he is such a likable character in this movie.
 * 5) Yorgi Azar Zimin is a decent yet powerful villain that he wants to kill Xander Cage and unleashes a powerful biochemical weapon called "Silent Night" into every single city of the entire world in order to bring worldwide anarchy and "endless wonderful freedom".
 * 6) Decent acting, especially for Vin Diesel, and Samuel L. Jackson.
 * 7) Xander Cage's famous dialogue "The things I'm going to do for my country!"
 * 8) A tons of action scenes that were pretty awesome for the time, such as Xander Cage on the motorbike, getting chased by the helicopter, on the other hand, the movie does have lots of fun, and dangerous scenes, such as another scene where Cage flies on a parachute and goes through the river and goes into the boat.
 * 9) This is the time that Rob Cohen did have some decent directing skills.
 * 10) Awesome practical effects, especially some of the car crashes, and even explosions as well.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) The title XXX may confuse anyone, thinking it's a pornographic film due to its "XXX" meaning of sex. Heck, even the poster may be confusing to some.

Reception
XXX received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film earning 48% of the critics gave the film positive reviews based on a sample of 179 reviews; the average score is 5.59/10. The site's consensus reads: "It has an endearing lack of seriousness, and Vin Diesel has more than enough muscle for the starring role, but ultimately, XXX is a missed opportunity to breathe new life into the spy thriller genre."

However, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 and a half stars out of 4, writing, "In its own punk way, XXX is as good as a good Bond movie, and that's saying something."