Though he skipped out on 2005’s XXX: State of the Union, it is safe to say that Vin Diesel is back as lead Xander Cage in Paramount Pictures upcoming sequel XXX: The Return of Xander Cage. To celebrate the occasion the film has just received a sluggish teaser trailer.
Though its always exciting to see an actor return to a franchise, the teaser trailer looks and feels like a rehash of the 2002 original film. While that film was a lot of fun, it lacked in the story development - and the same appears to be the case here. Extreme sports are still a big deal, but it feels forced.
Samuel L. Jackson is back and delivers almost the same line as he did in the first film: “The world is changing and we need a different kind of soldier.” To be fair the film’s target market likely hasn’t been introduced to the franchise just yet, so the retelling can somewhat be explained. But fans deserve a bit better than this.
On the plus side we do have some great co-stars this time around. Joining Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson on the project are newcomers Ruby Rose, Nina Dobrev, Rory McCann, Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa.
Directed by D.J. Caruso XXX: The Return of Xander Cage comes skiing into theaters January 20, 2017.
