Do We Need another XXX Movie?

Even if it does end up happening, do we really need another XXX movie? It’s fair to say that the last one was kind of interesting since it brought more big names into the mix, but this appears to be a trend that has been ongoing for a while now, as ensemble casts have become the norm for a lot of action movies. But seriously, it does feel that it needs to be curtailed at times since it ends up creating very predictable movies that suffer from extremely lazy writing styles that people somehow still lock onto. In a big way, this feels like the comfort food analogy that many would use to describe the reason why people keep enjoying some of the most brainless action that continues to be rolled out. Plenty of people are no doubt primed and ready to argue about this, but the fact is that when one can pinpoint when certain things are going to happen in a movie and are only wrong a few times out of a dozen, then the writing has become lazy and entirely too predictable. 

XXX has been, since its inception, kind of like James Bond combined with the Fast and Furious franchise since Xander Cage might be an intelligent human being, but he’s also someone that knows the rules and doesn’t play by them and is someone that lives on a steady stream of adrenaline. A lot of people tend to enjoy this immensely since it doesn’t require a lot of serious thought and allows them to fall into the experience that allows virtually anything to happen while giving the impression that there are no consequences for collateral damage and that the good guy always comes up with a way to win in the end. In other words, it’s a brainless action movie that tries to act smart by throwing technology and impressive action sequences at people in an attempt to get them to hit the OFF switch in their brains for an hour and a half. 

In all fairness, the movies have been the type of action that has been popular for a long time and Vin Diesel has been the type of individual that has been able to push a movie in a big way. But it does feel that XXX has been the type of movie that has been far more light-hearted than many other movies it’s been seen to emulate from time to time. Fans don’t care too much about this to be sure, but continuing this franchise feels as though it could make XXX into another Fast and Furious story since the number of actors brought into the most recent chapter made it appear that Cage was no longer a solo act and was bound to join a bigger group, much as it happened in the FF franchise. Some folks don’t see this as a problem, and it might be that some of us are bound to see an issue where there’s an opportunity, but thinking that the action movies of today are all going in the same direction doesn’t feel like an illusion or practice in paranoia. Instead, it has the feel of something that is bound to become little more than a franchise that’s going to pack in as many stars as it can and simply toss out a story like a hunk of poorly cut meat to a bunch of ravening dogs. 

Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but in a lot of ways it’s not since the average action movie these days tends to be extremely predictable and relies more on the flash that can be produced for people to see while the substance is kept at a minimum. People don’t often want to admit that action movies are a little too effects-heavy and poorer in the actual story, but the fact behind the impressive images is that a lot of these stories are thought to be far more impressive than they are. The XXX franchise is one of those that is made to look more impressive than it really is by using gadgets, stunts, and techniques that are all well and good and useful in their own right. But at the end of the day, they still come off as something that’s been done before in one form or another and aren’t unique as people like to think. 

One thing that Xander Cage does have going for him as a character is that he is far more intelligent and aware of what’s going on in his personal environment than many people. This is why the question of whether another movie is needed is being posed since there are upsides and pitfalls to be explored when thinking about this franchise. But to be fair, it doesn’t feel like it would be headed anywhere useful unless the franchise took a slightly darker and more realistic turn.