Vin Diesel is making me feel like I’m going back in time (kind of like these guys).  It all started with a return to The Fast and the Furious franchise, then came word of a new Pitch Black sequel, now Diesel is heading back down the xXx road.  The third film will be in…wait for it…3D!  Maybe they’ll call it “Triple X, Triple D.” If not, back off adult entertainment company, Vivid…that’s my title now.

Anyway, Diesel will reunite with director Rob Cohen and co-star Samuel L. Jackson for xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.  When asked about the new film Cohen said, “I feel what we did in the beginning of the decade was bring a different attitude to the action movie and a different kind of hero”.  I won’t disagree with that.  Originally, xXx was meant to introduce a new kind of spy-like character to the big screen.  In fact, the opening sequence of the movie showed a James Bond type agent getting killed off; a not so subtle transition point to introduce the new, hip xXx character.

Unfortunately, while that premise worked in 2002 a lot has changed since then. With upcoming films like The Expendables, The A-Team, and The Losers anti-heroes are becoming a dime-a-dozen.  For xXx to even compete it will have to bring something really new to the equation.  Based on the high level story description so far that doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen:

“In the script, written by Michael Ferris and John Brancato, Xander Cage (Diesel) is left for dead, but returns to execute a very difficult assignment that only he can pull off”.

How many times have we seen this story played out now? While Cohen plans on shooting the film entirely with 3D cameras, the technology can’t save a bad script.  xXx: The Return of Xander Cage has serious competition these days. As such, Diesel runs the risk of becoming the mediocre, brand X of vigilante anti-heroes. Mind you, if you’ve seen the original xXx, he may have been that already.