Ass Whoopin Wednesdays: xXx (2002)

For Ass Whoopin Wednesdays, we have just about covered so many guys and sometimes we’ve doubled back on some, but I forgot one guy. By the time of the release of xXx in 2002, Vin Diesel (The Fast And The Furious) was being marketed as the newest action star at the time and I have decided to cover it for today. He plays Xander Cage, an extreme sports enthusiast who has a knack for breaking the rules and doing things his way. After a stunt, he is sought out by a government agent named Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) who wants him to go on a mission to Prague to infiltrate a group known as Anarchy 99. While in Prague, he’ll have to get close to the groups fearless leader known as Yorgi (Martin Csokas) and find a deadly weapon that has been missing for years and is feared to be with him. The film also stars Asia Argento (Land Of The Dead) as Yelena, Michael Roof (Black Hawk Down) as Agent Shavers, Richy Müller (4 Minutes) as Milan, Werner Daehn (Valkyrie) as Kirill, Petr Jákl (AVP: Alien Vs Predator) as Kolya, Danny Trejo (Machete) as El Jefe, Jan Pavel Filipensky (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) as Viktor, and the film was directed by Rob Cohen (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story). Before We look at the review, how about we check out some stats:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For our good friend Xander Cage, He has about 23 kills in this film which he does with some style whether they are killed by an avalanche he causes or from his gun. We don’t know what his origin story is exactly in this film other than he has a rap sheet and he does have a love interest that he develops. No one close to him is hurt or killed that would cause him to go on a rampage and he does have a sexual conquest (we brought it back for this one). The big boss is defeated in the film, but Xander still has to go all out to save Prague in the end. This was a film that was made for the extreme sports generation as the world was experiencing a boom at the time and you’ll see it with almost every stunt Xander goes through in the film. There is some nice name dropping/placement for stuff int his film like a Metal Mullisha sticker that is caught by the camera when we are in Xander’s place. There is some cool cameos from extreme sports legends like Tony Hawk, Mat Hoffman, Brian Deegan, Cary Hart, and so many more. This film packed it all in to appease that world and it worked. We get a preview of Samuel L. Jackson doing his best Nick Fury impression or should I say we get a preview of what was to come some years later. There is a lot of action in the film and Vin Diesel is phenomenal as well as there is a lot of sexiness in the film too. I strongly suggest you guys check it out on Netflix or whatever right now. I am going to give the movie four fists out of five for a final grade.

Ass Whoopin Wednesdays: Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation (2015)

It is finally here and that means that the countdown to Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation is finally in the books and I have the review for you. Once again the gang is all here with Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible) as Ethan Hunt, Jeremy Renner (Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol) as Brandt, Simon Pegg (Mission: Impossible III) as Benji, and Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible) as Luther all return for the fifth installment. In this one, Ethan is still on the hunt to prove that the Syndicate is real and he will go out at all costs to prove it. The only thing is that he has a couple of problems on his hands with one being the CIA had IMF shut down and he is now a fugitive on the run and the second thing is that he has to trust a rogue assassin to help him find the leader of the syndicate as they chase all around the world. Can Ethan get the job done with the help of his old team or will it be too late for him and IMF as we know it? The film also stars Alec Baldwin (The Getaway) as Alan Hunley, Rebecca Ferguson (Hercules) as Ilsa Faust, Sean Harris (Prometheus) as Lane, Simon McBurney (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) as Atlee, Tom Hollander (About Time) as The British Prime Minister, Jens Hultén (Skyfall) as The Bonecrusher, Wolfgang Stegemann (Edge Of Tomorrow) as Assassin, and the film was directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher). Now let’s check out some of the stats before we get into the review of the film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing I have to point out about this series before we get into anything that has to do with this film in particular and that is Tom Cruise has a different director for each film. Not only that, but he has chooses directors that he has done films with before the making of whatever the current film is. So in this film, Ethan Hunt has a total of 21 knockouts/kills and he still has no origin story to speak of, but there are references to various films in the series. I am not entirely sure if we can count the woman he has to trust as a love interest, but that is why I placed the question marks there in the first place. Throughout the film, the team is put through the rigger with one of them being kidnapped at one point in the film (you’ll have t see it for yourself to figure out who I am talking about). The big boss in this film is defeated, but the way they do it is clever as hell. I loved the fact that in the beginning they reference some of the missions from various films as Baldwin’s character is claiming that the team is reckless. They head to a former Soviet country in this film in Belarus and they go back to England which was one of the settings in the first film as well as they used Austria and Morocco for more settings in the film as well. This was definitely a really good film, but it’s not better than Ghost Protocol which is by far my favorite in the series. It has some amazing cinematography and some great action sequences, but I could have used a little more. With that being said, I am still going to give this film four fists out of five for a final grade.

Ass Whoopin Wednesdays: Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol (2011)

It is week number four on our countdown to Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation here on Ass Whoopin Wednesdays as we countdown to the film’s release on July 31ST. As you can see on the blog, we have reviewed the first three Mission: Impossible films and we are continuing with the fourth film in the franchise Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol which sees our hero Ethan Hunt in a Russian prison as he crew made up of Benji (Simon Pegg) and Carter (Paula Patton) prepare to break him out. After the successful breakout, they are sent on another mission to steal some launch codes from the Kremlin, but before they can they are beat to the punch by Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) a Swede hell bent on having the world powers collide. After the Kremlin is destroyed by a bomb triggered by the Swede, the team is forced into Ghost Protocol along with the newest member on the team in Brandt (Jeremy Renner). Together they will do all they can to stop Hendricks from launching the nuclear bombs. The film also stars Vladimir Mashkov (Behind Enemy Lines) as Sidorov, Samuli Edelmann (The Tough Ones) as Wistrom, Ivan Shvedoff (Enemy At The Gates) as Leonid, Léa Seydoux (Inglourious Basterds) as Sabine, Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) as Brij Nath, Josh Holloway (Sabotage) as Hanaway, a cameo from Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible), and the film was directed by Brad Bird (Tomorrowland). Before we get into the review of the film, let’s check out some stats below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The one thing you’ll notice about this film is that his numbers are at a all time low considering what he had for Knockouts/kills in the second and third film, but that is because his team also gets in on the action. So in this film, Ethan Hunt only gets nine kills which is still better than the first Mission: Impossible film. In this film he has no origin story (as usual), no love interest, and no one he really cares about gets hurt in the film unless you are talking about the director of IMF (Tom Wilkinson). That only leaves us the big boss as far as the stats are concerned and you’ll have to watch it as the mission is accomplished. Every film has a different director and each one brings their own unique style to the film and that is case with Brad Bird who brings you plenty of great stunts and the cinematography is amazing as the gang go to Russia, Dubai, and Mumbai. One of my favorite scenes is the chase through the sandstorm while the team is in Dubai because it has plenty of suspense to go with the action. That is also the case for the whole film as the action sequences and some of the missions are amazing. This one could definitely be one of my favorites in the series by far and Jeremy Renner is equally a bad ass in this film as he was in his Bourne film. Check it out for yourself and be sure to check out Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation in theaters everywhere on July 31ST and watch for the review on the next edition of Ass Whoopin Wednesdays