XXX: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE (English) - Fultoo-action oriented our kind of paisa-vasool filmy entertainment. (Review by Bobby Sing)

One obviously isn’t there to see a Vin Diesel XXX series film for any fresh-novel storyline or out of the box cinema. A ticket is bought for such films to watch some outstanding actions sequences performed by the known stars and it’s truly an icing on the cake when it even features Hindi cinema’s leading lady too making a confident Hollywood debut becoming a part of the team.

As a personal sharing, I love watching those action-adventure kind of movies wherein the leading man forms a team of experts having different skills and goes on a mission clashing with a powerful, scary villain in hold of something extremely dangerous.

Honestly, a monstrous kind of villain goes missing in the film (making a severe dent) and it also doesn’t have any great thrilling progression bringing you onto the edge of your seats. But what still is right there is many stunning actions sequences with a jaw dropping execution and many cheerful crowd-pleasing moments just like an action packed Hindi film along with the songs too (Yes it has a few interesting character introductions presented with all catchy tracks).

Following a completely predictable and clichéd plot of getting a ‘destructive pandora box’ back from the villain by reappointing ‘a presumed dead’ investigative officer for the risky job, the latest film of the series thankfully doesn’t require the audience to be familiar with any of its previous parts, which certainly comes as a relief for all the first time viewers.

Riding high on its noticeable star power and powerful action alone, it features Vin Diesel making a comeback as Xander Cage and the man is a treat to watch playing it with an amazing ease as a highly relaxed, casual, fun loving but extremely confident officer. In the diverse supporting cast, we have Donnie Yen (China), Tony Jaa (Thailand), Ruby Rose (Australia), Nina Dobrev (Bulgaria), Kris Wu and Rory McCann with Darius Stone, Samuel L. Jackson and Neymar in three noteworthy cameos. And they all brilliantly contribute in the project with a few getting more attention and scenes than the others.

No doubt the exciting talented team has its own engaging presence led by Vin Diesel. But the one merit for which we all Indian viewers essentially need to see the film is Deepika Padukone, who gets rewarded with a significant (full length) role and makes the best use of the opportunity too, coming up with a refreshing, confident and highly likeable Hollywood debut deserving appreciation. Without opting for any fake or forced foreign accent (like many others) Deepika is just terrific in her individual scenes with Vin Diesel and truly impressive in her actions sequences too as the director DJ Caruso doesn’t reserve the action only for the known males.

In short, despite not being an exceptional film with something truly memorable, XXX: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE can easily be rated as a thoroughly enjoyable one time watch for the fans of high paced action genre, like a typical paisa-vasool Hindi film, full of our kind of filmy entertainment.

Putting it differently, just assume Vin Diesel to be Salman Khan on the screen, right from the first introductory scene climbing the high rise tower and you will never feel like watching an English film at all in the next two hours.

Rating : 3 / 5