xXx: Return of Xander Cage
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: January 20, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
14
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Slant MagazineJake ColeJan 19, 2017
Quibbles dissipate in the face of the giddiness of the action, which builds to such a relentless head that even the serious stakes of the film’s motivation give way to a largely pleasant vibe. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoJan 19, 2017
It may be messy, but the parts that matter go for broke with breakneck ambition. Read full review
67
The VergeKwame OpamFeb 7, 2017
It’s fun and mostly inoffensive, never taking itself too seriously while it rewards its inexplicable fans. Better still, it makes every effort to borrow from the Fast series’ latter-day push for more diverse heroes, something the action genre needs right now. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJan 20, 2017
Speaking strictly for myself, Vin Diesel, here coming back to play Xander Cage, the James Bond of skateboarding character he originated in 2002’s “XXX” is the least exciting component of this 3D slam-bang fest. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshJan 19, 2017
Pure spectacle has since been subsumed into narrative filmmaking, but the cinema of attractions is always present, especially in modern action movies, and there may be no greater current example of this than xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. Read full review
60
EmpireDan JolinJan 19, 2017
We've seen all these stunts pulled before, and seen them done better, but there's some pleasure to be had here — even if it's of the extremely guilty kind. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 19, 2017
Vin, great ridiculous beefcake lunk that he is, does provide us with some fun. Read full review
58
The PlaylistWill AshtonJan 20, 2017
One should applaud Diesel and Caruso for breathing unexpected energy into what could’ve been another lame, uninspired continuation. It’s wild, loud and totally out of control, and that’s periodically a pretty good thing. Read full review
50
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerJan 20, 2017
While he has a decent enough handle on the right tone for the proceedings, Caruso’s action sequences are slapdash to the point of incoherence. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 20, 2017
A shift in tone to something like "Kingsman" might have made this a more entertaining experience. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckJan 20, 2017
A reasonably entertaining popcorn movie experience. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeJan 19, 2017
The essential question here, of course, is how kickass those action scenes are, since no one’s watching an xXx movie for the plot. (That particular assumption may explain how loose the continuity remains throughout.) The answer is variable. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Julia CooperJan 19, 2017
It goes without saying that the American public’s relationship to the NSA has changed dramatically since the first xXx movie in 2002 – a sea change that this film seeks to play up – but the script, written by F. Scott Frazier, doesn’t quite know what to do with its critique of the NSA’s unchecked power. Read full review
50
VarietyAndrew BarkerJan 19, 2017
Rarely do five minutes elapse between some sort of laugh-out-loud absurdity, and the distinction between the film’s intentional and unintentional comedy grows hazier as it goes. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisJan 25, 2017
Collette – usually a delight – sounds like she’s phonetically speaking a foreign language. Not even Judi Dench could sell these lines. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsStephen Whitty Jan 20, 2017
Diesel is the star (as well as a producer), in every scene. And he drags the film down with him. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghJan 19, 2017
The film is packed with moments of rank idiocy. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyJan 19, 2017
The movie wastes chance after chance to pull together a satisfying action sequence, or give us anything to look at that’s not lame, spatially confusing, and badly lit. Read full review
40
Total FilmJordan FarleyJan 19, 2017
Somewhat impressively, it’s even stupider than this outlandish synopsis sounds, with action that makes the F&F movies look grounded, “hip” dialogue that induces spasms of embarrassment and a shockingly casual disregard for human life. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 25, 2017
Return of Xander Cage adds up to a movie “all jacked up on Red Bull and Mountain Dew.” And we all know how bad that stuff is for you. Read full review
30
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJan 19, 2017
Characters are simply triggers for the overwrought action sequences, though between the Edward Scissorhands editing and occasional wobbling background, even those are less than distinct. Read full review
25
IndieWireJude DryJan 21, 2017
Even in the weak signal that is the January movie season, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage hardly registers. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 20, 2017
Diesel has chosen to keep selling stupid to audiences who are inexplicably eager to gobble it up. Damn shame. Read full review
25
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenJan 19, 2017
xXx: Return of Xander Cage is the movie equivalent of cotton candy: all empty calories. Excessive consumption of this product is likely to give a body the queasies. Read full review
12
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniJan 20, 2017
I should put in for worker’s comp for the extensive injuries I sustained watching the insulting, abysmal 3-D action thriller xXx: Return of Xander Cage, which left me deeply traumatized and suffering from injuries to my eardrums, my eyes, my mind, my soul, my aesthetic sensibility, and my sense of decency. Read full review
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