Fifteen years after the original (and 12 since its Ice Cube sequel), the third XXX flick proves as disposably entertaining as one would suppose.
The return of this X-Games-meets-spy-games franchise channels Roger Moore-era Bond with some lazy plot about a device that can turn satellites into bombs. The first fight—featuring Rogue One’s Donnie Yen and fun martial arts choreography—and Xander Cage’s subsequent assault of a satellite tower to bring football to the masses promises a lot upon which the been there, done that groove of crosses and double crosses and mots and bon mots cannot deliver.
At least Vin Diesel has more fun in his return as Xander Cage than he does as the Fast and the Furious series’ dour Dom, even if those movies are leagues better. Toni Collette cuts super-loose—and digs it!—in a movie that is often dumb in a smart kind of way. Were it only more narratively creative. Instead, the filmmakers seem more interested in building on a nonexistent mythology mostly involving Cage’s fur coat.
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