Director: D.J. Caruso
Cast: Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Toni Collette, Deepika Padukone, Tony Jaa, Ruby Rose, Kris Wu, Rory McCann, Nina Dobrev, Samuel L Jackson
Plot: Xander Cage is coerced out of hiding to help the CIA to retrieve Pandora's Box, a device capable of crashing satellites to specific targets.
Review: In his prime, Vin Diesel made three movie characters popular: the ruthless anti-hero Richard B Riddick, Dom Toretto, the carjacker who's a family man at heart, and Xander Cage, the extreme sports enthusiast recruited as a secret agent. Out of the three, Cage is probably the least likable one, for me anyway.
In this sequel, Diesel returns as Cage, assigned by CIA agent Jane Marke to retrieve a device known as Pandora's Box from a team of agents led by Xiang. The device is capable of crashing satellites and was recently used to kill Cage's recruiter Augustus Gibbons. Cage assembles his own team of ragtag individuals and locates Xiang's team, only to discover that not everything is as it seems.
I'll start with what I don't like. From the get go, it's obvious that director D.J. Caruso and writer F Scott Frazier were trying to make a fun filled movie, as it's littered with one liners and jokes. The problem is, most of them fall really flat. The dialogue is pretty awful at times, and I'm well aware that they probably want us to not take this film too seriously, but personally I wished they did. I don't mind watching a dumb action movie with funny lines, but the comedy needs to be spot on and they need to be serious when necessary. In this case they were off the mark.
Poor Toni Collette was given some of the worst lines ever as Marke. You would notice her trying to say them with a straight face and not laugh, it was uncomfortable to watch. Tony Jaa was unwisely wasted by the filmmakers here, being utilized only for a handful of acrobatic flips and not much else. Nina Dobrev's nerdy weapons expert/computer whiz is rather annoying overall and Kris Wu's character is here for, get this....taking over a nightclub deejay spot and getting the party started. No shit. Oh, he shoots a few bad guys at the end. That's it. And how much did they pay Samuel L Jackson to show up for five minutes and attempt to recruit Neymar? Really odd thing to see.
On the flipside, Donnie Yen shines as Xiang, excelling in what he does best: kicking ass. His opening fight sequence in the boardroom is pretty awesome. Game Of Thrones' Rory McCann is somewhat hilarious as Cage's team member who drives the team and has a tendency of crashing the vehicle. It's an oddball role but it actually works. Deepika Padukone is alright as Xiang's partner Serena, holding her own against two leading action stars, while Ruby Rose gets more time to shine here than in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter as a sniper on Cage's team. As for Diesel, he's still solid in action sequences, but the Cage character really isn't that appealing here to be honest. I can't take him seriously when he's wearing a fur coat while working.
At the very least, where the script fails, the action succeeds most of the time. There are some ridiculous sequences involving skiing between jungle trees and riding a bike on the ocean, but the final third of the film showcases some neat action sequences as both Cage and Xiang's teams battle the bad guys on the ground and in the air, with a surprise cameo to boot.
To sum it up, Return Of Xander Cage is an over the top sequel that really requires viewers to turn off their brains and enjoy the action. If they had made the script a lot smarter, it would have been genuinely entertaining. (6.5/10)
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