"XXX: STATE OF THE UNION" (2005) (Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Moderate Extreme *Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Minor Extreme *Minor Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Mild Minor Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action/Adventure: Sprung from a government prison, a covert agents sets out to get revenge on those who wronged him and, in doing so, stop a coup d'état. PLOT: When his underground NSA lair is raided by commandos and he barely escapes being killed, NSA agent Augustus Gibbons (SAMUEL L. JACKSON) realizes he needs a more powerful super agent, codenamed "XXX," to deal with the situation. Accordingly, he and tech guru Toby Lee Shavers (MICHAEL ROOF) spring former Special Op Darius Stone (ICE CUBE) from a government prison. Bitter at Gibbons for what he thinks was abandonment when they tried to take down corrupt General George Deckert (WILLEM DAFOE), Stone only agrees to help when he realizes he's also a target and would rather take the fight to them rather than be killed in prison. His target, however, has only grown in power now that Deckert is the Secretary of Defense under President James Sanford (PETER STRAUSS). And Stone's task becomes even more difficult now that another NSA agent, Kyle Steele (SCOTT SPEEDMAN), is on his trail. Enlisting the aid of a wide variety of people - ranging from Gibbons' Hill contact Charlie (SUNNY MABREY) to Stone's former lover and current upscale chop shop owner Lola (NONA GAYE) -- XXX sets out to bring down Deckert any way possible, resulting in him discovering and then having to stop the coup d'état the corrupt secretary is planning. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of the first film, action films in general, and/or anyone in the cast, it's a good bet they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For sequences of intense action violence and some language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: ICE CUBE plays the bitter government prisoner who reluctantly agrees to assist Gibbons despite feeling abandoned by him years ago. He's all attitude and sets out to take down Deckert his own way, using lots of brute force and spy like behavior. He uses some profanity and fights with and kills various villains. SAMUEL L. JACKSON plays his former superior who springs him from prison so that they can figure out what sort of conspiracy is developing around them. He fights with and kills various villains. WILLEM DAFOE plays the Secretary of Defense who's so unhappy with the President's plans to scale down the military that he's plotting a coupe that will place him in charge of the country. Accordingly, he kills, tries to kill or orders his minions to kill others. SCOTT SPEEDMAN plays an NSA agent who's initially after Stone, but then teams up with him to bring down Deckert after they've learned of the latter's plans. PETER STRAUSS plays the President of the United States who wants to reduce the U.S. military, much to the chagrin of Deckert. He briefly uses strong profanity and fights with some men after being kidnapped. MICHAEL ROOF plays Gibbons' white bread tech guru who supplies him and Stone with various gadgets and weaponry. SUNNY MABREY plays a buxom, senator's daughter who was Gibbons' contact on the Hill and now seems to befriend Stone, but really just sets him up. She shows a lot of cleavage in all of her outfits. NONA GAYE plays Stone's former lover who's moved her chop-shop activities to an upscale part of the city and now only deals in high end vehicles. She assists Stone, sports a lot of cleavage, and briefly comes on to him. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action flick that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually related dialogue and innuendo are present, some women are seen in sexy/revealing attire, a couple briefly makes out and a sexual encounter is teased, but then turns out to be something entirely different. Violence, which pushes the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, consists of many scenes of people being shot to death, killed by explosions or perishing by other means. Hand to hand fighting and other such contact is also present (much of it brutal in style) and some of that material and other stunts may be enticing for some kids to imitate. Only a few of those violent scenes have bloody results (although a moderate amount is present in them), and they and other moments of peril might be unsettling or suspenseful for some viewers. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, including a Cabinet member staging a coup d'état, while some of the "good guys" are street thugs and criminals. Meanwhile, several characters briefly drink or smoke. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Deckert, who holds a drink, tells Gibbons (who's being held by another man at gunpoint) to have a drink (but that doesn't happen). Miscellaneous people have drinks in a restaurant where Charlie has a glass of wine. People have champagne at a reception where Stone poses as a waiter, serving it, eventually downing a glass when his cover is blown. Miscellaneous people drink in some sort of club. BLOOD/GORE We see a bloody hand and then a few dead bodies with a little bit of blood on them. We then see a large blade go through a man's torso (but with little or no blood). We briefly see a little blood squirt out when a person is shot and later briefly see a tiny bit of blood on the floor. We see a dead man with a small bullet hole wound in his head with some blood down from that. We see a little blood from a woman's mouth after she's shot dead. Stone has a little blood on his face following a fight. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Stone is in a perpetual bad or at least irritated mood toward most everyone and everything. Not pleased with the President's direction for his military, Deckert plots to have him and others killed so that he'll be next in line for the Presidency. He also kills or attempts to have others killed. All of his minions have bad attitudes as well. Gibbons and Toby break the law and break Stone out of prison for their mission. We see some people who run a chop-shop (for cars), including Lola who runs a high-tech one. Some viewers might not like what seem like references to the Bush administration in having the pro-military villain being named George. Some viewers might not like the negative portrayal of an NRA official. We learn that Charlie has set up Stone for a murder he did not commit. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" may be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material, but all of it's played in a standard action fashion. To escape from the government prison where's held, Stone (who's shackled) elbows and otherwise strikes various guards (with one accidentally whacking another on the arm with a baton), before kicking a large fan out of the wall and getting to the roof (where he jumps from one part to the next). A sniper nearly shoots him, but figures he can't escape. Stone (no longer shackled) then fights more guards with various punches and kicks before running and jumping off the edge of a building and grabbing a hold of a helicopter landing rung (as some guards fire at him and the chopper). Gibbons enters his house at night with his gun drawn, slowly making his way through it. He and an intruder then engage in some hand to hand fighting, ending with the intruder having Gibbons around the neck with a gun held to his head. Gibbons tries to escape several times, but the man regains control and eventually hits him on the head with the gun, seemingly knocking him out. Stone gets suspicious, goes out into a mansion's hallway and finds a gun on the floor. He then leads his way with that, eventually finding a top military official who's been shot dead in the head. Steele (dangling from a cable attached to a helicopter overhead) tries to rescue the President from a speeding train and grabs him just in the nick of time. Stone dives a long way into a body of water (shooting into the surface to create a "hole" for him) amidst a bunch of train wreckage falling with him. He then must swim fast underwater to avoid the wreckage that nearly lands on him. GUNS/WEAPONS Machine guns/Handguns/Tanks/Various Explosives/Knives/Large blade: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. We see part of a 21-gun salute at a funeral. We see lots of government weapons that were secretly being transported in a cheese truck. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck you," "Oh sh*t," "With a mouth like yours, they're going to love you on the inside" (a former prisoner to another man about prison), "Second best ride of my life" (about a car, but innuendo for sex), "What the hell /is going on?" "Who the hell /did you piss off/is this guy/am I?" "Where the hell /are you going to find that/is he?" "How the hell did this happen?" "Why would I do a damn thing for you?" "Same sorry ass speech," "Who's your daddy?" (not said to a child), "Damn sure," "I don't blend," "Before I kick your teeth in," "Bitch" (woman), "Damn, they're good," "I was born looking guilty," "Same blood, same mud," "You should have killed that bitch," "Hillbilly (you need to lighten up)," "Home-boy," "Sucker," "*ssholes and elbows," "Chick," "What took you so damn long?" and "Wars come and go, but my warriors stay eternal." All of the fighting, stunts and other physical activity may be enticing for some kids to try to imitate. We see some miscellaneous graffiti on inner-city walls. Miscellaneous men and women sport various tattoos. Charlie does some fast driving in reverse down an alley to avoid some Feds. JUMP SCENES A long blade suddenly goes through a man. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of action, dramatic and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) Some songs had lyrics that we couldn't understand or fully hear, thus offering the possibility of them potentially containing objectionable lyrics. A song had a lyric having something to do with a bullet in the hand, while another repeats the line, "Fight the power" (presumably meaning authority figures). PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word, 1 "s" word, 5 slang terms/innuendo for sex ("do," "dropped gears," "damage" and "ride"), 14 hells, 5 damns, 3 asses (1 used with "hole"), 1 S.O.B., 4 uses of "G-damn" and 1 use each of "God" and "Jesus Christ." SEX/NUDITY When told his new name of "XXX," Stone says it sounds like a porno star. He then tells Gibbons and Toby that he needs what any man needs coming off lockdown and then adds, "You know what I'm saying." We then hear music usually accompanying a sex scene and hear his pleasured sounds, but then see that he's wolfing down a burger, saying, "Who's your daddy?" Both Charlie and Lola show lots of cleavage most every time they appear on screen. When Stone tells Lola that he needs a more powerful car and "something nasty," she drops some innuendo by replying, "I can do nasty" and he follows that with "I know you can." Some miscellaneous women show cleavage. Charlie and Stone return to her father's empty mansion, with her suggestively telling Stone, "Let's get you out of those clothes, shall we?" He doesn't want to wear what she's retrieved for him, but she then tells him, "If you need anything, I'm just right down the hall." He replies, "Anything?" and she says, "Anything at all." He then jokes that he wants fries and a shake and when she leaves, he mutters, "The things I can't do for my country." Stone and Lola talk about their romantic/sexual past, using innuendo while doing so. Comments are made about remembering the first time they "dropped gears" in a particular vehicle and "all the damage we did in the backseat." Stone then suggestively asks her, "Ready to do some more damage?" but they're interrupted before anything else happens. Stone tells another man, "With a mouth like yours, they're going to love you on the inside" (meaning prison). We see a woman doing some sexy dancing around a pole in some sort of club, but she's clothed (no thong bottom as is usually seen in such scenes). Other women show cleavage. We see two women (decoys for Stone to get a transport truck to stop) dressed in small/tight skirts, with one bending over her "broken down" car and the other standing there in a sexy fashion. Lola and Stone do some passionate, clothed kissing while standing. He then talks about a car but drops some innuendo about her by saying, "Second best ride of my life." SMOKING Stone smokes a cigar once, while some miscellaneous characters smoke in a few scenes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Stone briefly mentions that his father was shot to death sometime in the past. We briefly see what are presumably grieving older family members at a funeral. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Covert government operations. The concept of a coup d'état. When Steele tells Stone that he'll look guilty if he runs (from the scene of a murder), Stone responds, "I was born looking guilty." Stone employing hustlers and thieves to thwart Deckert. A villain uses a quote from Thomas Jefferson to excuse his actions. VIOLENCE A farmer finds a bloody hand sticking out from a barn stall and then discovers several dead bodies there. A commando then stabs a large blade through his entire torso, killing him. Commandos use explosives to blow their way down to an underground NSA facility. Once inside, they shoot and wound/kill various people with machine guns, while other explosions are set off. Agents inside, including Gibbons (who also destroys a small, flying apparatus), fire back at the intruders who continue to mow down more people during a big gun battle (where there's little to no blood beyond one brief squirt out moment). Gibbons and Toby then escape when the former fires explosives that blow a barn door open, knocking two commandos aside. We later hear that 16 agents were killed. We hear that the former XXX was killed in a foreign country the night before. To escape from the government prison where's held, Stone (who's shackled) elbows and otherwise strikes various guards (with one accidentally whacking another on the arm with a baton), before kicking a large fan out of the wall and getting to the roof (where he jumps from one part to the next). A sniper nearly shoots him, but figures he can't escape. Stone (no longer shackled) then fights more guards with various punches and kicks before running and jumping off the edge of a building and grabbing a hold of a helicopter landing rung (as some guards fire at him and the chopper). To create a diversion, Stone fires a missile into an empty car, resulting in a huge explosion. He then rappels down into the previously attacked, underground NSA bunker where he hits and knocks out two guards. When the NSA agents realize the explosion was a decoy, they race back inside, shooting at Stone in a hallway as well as a vertical shaft where their gunfire and/or his into the walls of it cause some debris to fall down. Agents chase after Stone on foot over the countryside, eventually leading to a dock where Stone pulls the fuel lines from two boats before escaping in a third. He then shoots at the leaking boats, causing them to explode (which knocks various agents into the water). Steele shoots at Stone and his boat, but misses. Stone, still in the boat, then goes to rescue Toby who's been pulled over by the police on a bridge. Stone goes up an impromptu ramp in his boat that flies through the air and lands on a police car, crushing it. That car and/or the boat then explode with more agents and/or police knocked down. Gibbons enters his house at night with his gun drawn, slowly making his way through it. He and an intruder then engage in some hand to hand fighting, ending with the intruder having Gibbons around the neck with a gun held to his head. Gibbons tries to escape several times, but the man regains control and eventually hits him on the head with the gun, seemingly knocking him out. A huge explosion rips through a main character's house, seemingly killing him (we even see a funeral, but later learn the person is alive). Stone gets suspicious, goes out into a mansion's hallway and finds a gun on the floor. He then leads his way with that, eventually finding a top military official who's been shot dead in the head. S.W.A.T. members rush a mansion and smash down the door, looking for Stone. He grabs one such man around the neck and apparently knocks him out (escaping in his uniform). Stone grabs a man by the face and yanks his head back against a wall, knocking him out. Stone hits Charlie (who double-crossed him earlier), knocking her out (but only briefly). Trying to escape from inside an aircraft carrier, Stone hits various men and then gets inside a tank. Another tank then comes after him, with Stone shooting a truck that explodes. The other tank shoots at Stone, but misses, hitting a helicopter instead (that explodes). The two tanks then race inside the carrier, smashing into each other (on the sides) and firing at each other, with more property damage. Stone hits another person. Stone connects an aircraft carrier's catapult launch hook to an empty tank and then activates the catapult. His tank then flies down the carrier surface, smashing into another tank, with both exploding and falling off the carrier (presumably killing those inside the other tank). Stone then dives into the water, with men firing machine guns at him as he swims underwater (we see the bullets whiz by him). We see Steele and another man exchanging boxing blows while sparring in a ring. Deckert makes a veiled threat of death to Steele. We see that Deckert has Gibbons and his men bound and gagged. Stone and his small army of hustlers and thieves blast their large vehicles through government roadblocks, bursting water barriers and smashing into parked vehicles (knocking down guards in the process). Other guards then open fire on the intruding vehicles, riddling them with bullets (but those inside are unharmed). When Stone and the other occupants of his large truck spot a tank arrive and then slowly turn its turret toward them, they drive backwards as fast as possible and then bail out just as the tank fires and destroys their truck (and causes other vehicle damage). Stone drives a tank over many parked cars. There's a gun battle inside the Capitol Rotunda, with many people being hit and wounded or killed (but there's no blood). A tank fires a shot into the Capitol Rotunda, causing a large explosion that knocks many people aside, injuring or killing them. Another gun battle then breaks out, with many more people being shot and wounded or killed. Stone hits a woman (who earlier double-crossed him). When she then reaches for a weapon, Gibbons shoots her dead. Another gun battle results in more people being shot dead or wounded. Some guards are shot dead. The President punches one villain. Stone shoots the back of a fast-moving train, causing an explosion and other damage. He then rams his sports car into that damage, and scrambles onto the train with his car then falling away where it tumbles, comes apart and explodes on the tracks. Stone fights a man, with a blade seemingly getting him in the arm (no blood). The two continue their brutal fight, with Stone avoiding various knife jabs but delivering and receiving many brutal punches and kicks. The man then places a large kitchen cart down onto Stone and repeatedly stomps down on it, causing Stone pain. Stone ignites a broken gas line, causing an explosion that blows a man out the closed window of a speeding train (the body smacks into a sign along the tracks). Deckert shoots a train driver dead, with the President then trying to hit him. Deckert shoots out the window of a speeding train, trying to hit Steele who's dangling on a line down from a helicopter. Stone and Deckert fight, with many brutal punches delivered by both. Deckert shoots at the President and Steele, hitting the latter in the arm. A helicopter fires a missile into a speeding train, causing a huge explosion and presumably killing the villain inside it. Reviewed April 25, 2005 / Posted April 29, 2005

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