Star: Ice Cube

This movie gets off to a fantastic start, but after a great action-packed well-crafted 5 minute intro scene, we learn Vin Diesel is not XXX any more – instead it’s Ice Cube – a big disappointment – he’s not a good actor, he acts more like a spoilt teenager than a hardened convict like the role dictates. So while at first glance it looked like we may have had a vastly improved movie, the fact we also seem to have a terribly inferior lead actor more than cancel out any gains made. By 10 minutes in, it already looks set for a Bang Average rating at best – quite probably Below Average even.

Rapidly flickering fight scenes, due to Ice Cube’s total lack of real athletic ability let alone combative acumen, actually made it painful to watch at times. Fortunately, by 20 minutes in, the satirical cheese is piled on just about right to make this weird formula kind of work. It looks set of Bang Average now – potentially slightly higher.

While the original starring Vin Diesel was a bit like a cross between James Bond and Rush Hour, this one is similar but probably better described as a cross between Mission Impossible and Naked Gun – minus a strong lead actor of course.

In the end, I think the supporting cast, budget, props, script and general strength of production made up very well for the lead weakness, to the point I rate this movie Bang Average which is quite an achievement considering the stars who have movies ranking lower than this one.