I am at a loss as to why Vin Diesel is considered something special. Sure, he was fine providing a voice for the underrated animated movie "The Iron Giant", but in live action he isn't anything like what I would consider a leading man. Here, as in his other movies, he comes across as as an arrogant and somewhat dumb thug that repulses you. Even Stallone at his worst still gave his character enough believability that you could accept his actions.
As for the rest of the movie... well, it was meant to be an update of the James Bond movies, but they only got the words, not the music. Sure there's an evil organization out to hurt the world, but it and its members are given paper-thin development and no personality. Sure, there are high-tech gadgets, but they are TOO cartoony, and are presented in a way that doesn't amaze or make you think they're cool. Sure, there are foreign locations, but they are shoved so way in the background that you wonder why they bothered to go on location. Sure, there are big and elaborate stunt sequences, but they managed to be directed and edited in a way that saps out ALL the excitement other directors and editors would have been able to keep in. I'm sure some other wag in these user comments has already said this... but this is more "ZZZ" than "XXX".
