Dose of Diesel

Miami: Vin Diesel’s biceps ripple into the room before he actually enters. Standing six feet one and a hefty 225 pounds, this ex-bouncer from a Greenwich village disco looks substantially beefed up. He’s also muscling his way to the top of the US box office with Columbia Tristar’s radical new spy agent movie XXX. No, Triple-X is not a porn flick.But it’s replete with extreme action, superb stunts and, yes, a fair amount of skimpily-clad chicks. Diesel reunites with the director of The Fast and the Furious, Rob Cohen and stars as the former extreme sports athlete Xander ‘XXX’ Cage. XXX’s the new breed of secret agent. He’s recruited by NSA Agent Gibbons (Samuel L Jackson) to use his extreme sport skills to combat the organised enemy, aptly titled Anarchy 99. It’s headed by a brutal Russian army commander Yorgi (Marton Csokas) and his beautiful girlfriend Yelena, played by Italian actress Asia Argento. Remarks Diesel, “XXX starts out as a rebel. He’s quite unlike the spy agent of the 80s, who was flawless. XXX is the imperfect hero. Someone I can identify with.� The actor who’s been acting since he was five goes on to add, “To be human is to be flawed. If you start being didactic in your movie then you lose the younger audience.� Director Cohen, also a graduate in anthropology, remarks, “I’m not shredding any genres or trying to break the conventional image of the spy. There’s the 40-year-old formula of the Bond movie. But I’m putting forth an alternative and adding more complexity in the character.� And the new formula seemed to appeal to American audiences, considering the first weekend opening of XXX drew a cool $46 million at the box office. Though the script of XXX may not live upto expectations, the stunts and the action are top class. Extreme sport fans are sure to get blown away by one spectacular skiing scene where Diesel is practically chased by a snow avalanche. It’s digital technology at its best. Adds Cohen, “Computers and their effects on the movies are here to stay.� But deciding what stunts Diesel would do was a tough task. “I wanted to do all the stunts,� says Diesel with a smirk on his face, “but Rob would prefer that I do none.� Apart from shooting in California, the film has also been shot in Prague. Here Cohen summoned German electro/metal band Rammstein to recreate one of their highly visual concerts, filled with roaring flames and extras with eccentric costumes, which comprise the highly electric opening sequence in the film. Another important aspect of the film’s style are the flamboyant tattoos that adorn Xander Cage. The tattoos are crucial to his character ad his code name XXX is taken from the 3 X’s tattooed on the back of his neck. XXX is box office king at the moment. But then, so confident were its makers that a sequel is already on its way. Watch out, 007. XXX releases in India on October 18. khushnuma.d@timesgroup.com