Is xXx suitable for children?

xXx – Extreme sports obsessed law-breaker, Xander Cage, is approached by NSA agent, Augustus Gibbons to join the xXx programme to stop a mercenary group of former Soviet soldiers from using a biochemical weapon. Cage must infiltrate the group, gain their trust and complete his mission but with barely any training and little support, he must rely on his natural confidence and wits to see him through. With dangerous criminals at every turn, will Cage be able to keep his cover long enough to stay alive and stop the weapon being used on a civilian population? 

xXx (2002) – Director: Rob Cohen

Is xXx appropriate for kids?

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1813486

Rating: 12

Running Length: 124 mins

Starring: Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas

Genre: Action

REVIEW: ‘xXx’

If James Bond is the epitome of a suave, sophisticated spy, Vin Diesel’s ‘xXx’ is the exact opposite; he is every teenage boy’s dream – reckless, cool, God’s gift to women and never without a witty one-liner despite constantly being totally out of his depth. His lack of consideration for anyone that isn’t a pretty lady is limitless, the answer to his problems is with a gun or a fist rather than intelligence or words and an American gung-ho attitude is all it takes to defeat the plans of experienced Soviet mercenaries. He is, in essence, an accidental caricature of the stereotypical all-American action hero, without a trace of irony of self-awareness.

Vin Diesel plays the title role with aplomb, his monosyllabic sarcasm, ‘wit’ and beefcake persona which he is now well-known for was cemented in this role and remains one of his most recognized performances in his acting career. Luckily for his character, Xander Cage, he already had the giant ‘xXx’ symbol tattooed on the back of his neck before being recruited into the ‘xXx’ programme else things could have gotten awkward. Also fortunately, he enters a room where a scantily clad woman is waiting at the top of a high bedpost and, despite having potentially being there for hours, is immediately ready for casual sex – if he hadn’t gone in there, she could have been there all night!

What it boils down to is ‘xXx’ is undeniably fun but completely ridiculous and sadly, very dated. With so many other, better examples having been released since, the front-runner of this type of movie has been left behind and has not stood the test of time. While some adults may enjoy it for nostalgia reasons, it’s inescapable silliness and over-the-top stunts (the CGI now looks pretty terrible) have made it forgettable and jarringly old-fashioned and is therefore difficult to enjoy, even as light-hearted entertainment.

CONTENT: IS ‘xXx’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

A man is murdered by gangsters in a nightclub where he falls from a balcony onto the crowds below. Thinking he is crowd surfing, the crowd carrying his body above them which is jostled and knocked as it is passed along from one person to another, a bloody wound can be seen on the man’s shirt.

During a training exercise, three characters are taken to Columbia and come across a cocaine plantation. One of them becomes very excited and begins to take leaves from the plants in hopes of using them for illicit drugs.

Several characters are taken captive by dangerous criminals and tied up, one of their captors threatens to ‘cut off their Achilles tendon and watch ’em flap around like a marionette’ while holding a bloody machete.

Cage sells out one of his colleagues, causing him to be caught by some gangsters. Knowing that he is suddenly in extreme danger, the man becomes very scared although he keeps his composure. He is taken away and it is unclear what will happen to him (although he is seen alive and well a short while later). After this, one of the gangsters says ‘bitches, come’ and several young women dutifully come into to the room.

A man is given some x-ray glasses and, when he puts them on, he looks at a woman standing nearby. He mostly sees through to her skeleton but there are hints of nudity, especially her behind. Women are often seen in revealing clothing, showing their bras and cleavage; one woman in a thong bikini is picked up by a man who smacks her bottom several times. When a male character walks into a bedroom, a woman is waiting for him dressed only in lacy underwear. After a short, very sexual pole dance, the two very quickly become physically intimate; the visuals are very much like soft-core pornography. The man lies on top of the woman and says ‘The things I’m gonna do for my country’. A man lies in bed with three naked women (implying that they have previously had group sex), one of the women’s breasts can be seen and another’s bottom from the side.

A man exposes a group of people to deadly gases causing them to panic and try to escape. One goes to the window where the man is callously watching the devastation unfold, desperate for help but instead of helping, one of the man’s henchman stubs a cigarette out on the window where the dying man’s face is on the other side.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?
VERDICT: IS ‘xXx’ FOR KIDS?

Trying to be a spy movie that’s much cooler than James Bond, ‘xXx’ goes over the top with the action and misogyny which may appeal to its target audience of (some) teen boys but makes for eye-rolling reactions from the adults.  Due to adult content and some questionable messages, we feel this movie is not appropriate for kids aged under twelve.

  • Violence: 3/5
  • Emotional Distress: 0/5
  • Fear Factor: 2/5 (some tense scenes involving dangerous criminals where it isn’t always clear which way things are going to go)
  • Sexual Content: 5/5 (strong sexual references, one scene where two characters have sex – plenty of bare skin is shown, an implied orgy and lots of misogyny)
  • Bad Language: 3/5 (frequent moderate cursing throughout)
  • Dialogue: 4/5 (frequent violent and sexual dialogue throughout)
  • Other Notes: Deals with themes of espionage, extreme sports, gangsters, undercover cops, exploiting others, the threat of using nuclear weapons on a civilian population, thinking on your feet, government agencies and confidence seeing you through danger.

Words by Laura Record

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