xXx: State of the Union
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: April 29, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
13
Negative:
12
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
This is a B movie rooted in gut-level stirrings of power and retaliation. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
What's fun is that the road to that climactic Capitol showdown is paved with one ridiculous and relentlessly edited set piece after another. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
A smooth blend of visual special effects, exceptional stunts, fluid photography, sharp design and a possible best-selling soundtrack. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Opens explosively and never lets up. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
There are really only two kinds of big-budget action movies: stupid, and good and stupid. Surprisingly, XXX: State of the Union is good and stupid, which makes it an immediate improvement over 2002's meatheaded "XXX." Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Theater of the absurd, masquerading as an action thriller. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Thankfully, State Of The Union's pulpy, adrenalized blaxploitation spin on the secret-agent genre provides the dumb fun its predecessor should have dished out. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Most of the movie is standard action fare, but the political commentary is interesting when it's allowed to surface. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldPeter Debruge
Basically the first movie all over again, with plenty more of the bridge-jumping, rocket-launching action that audiences loved about the original. Read full review
50
VarietyRobert Koehler
You'd half expect the Xbox logo to pop up on the credit roll for XXX: State of the Union, since what's on view is closer to a videogame than a movie. While that will be music to the ears of young gamers, it's noise to anyone hoping for a coherent action movie. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
At least this movie seems more aware of its trashiness than "National Treasure" was. It's therefore freer to have some off-the-cuff fun the way Steven Seagal's more tolerable vehicles once did. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
A big, loud, proudly brainless popcorn flick that blows up cars, trucks, tanks, boats, helicopters and even a train. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
This is a movie about guns blazing, men punching, speedometers straining and explosions exploding. On all those levels, it succeeds just fine - which makes for a great amusement-park ride, but perhaps not much of a movie. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Hilariously, gut-bustingly, mind-blowingly, jaw-droppingly stupid. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverJonathan Kiefer
Director Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day) has a shruggingly action-intensive style, which feels at once heavy-handed and lazy. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Of course the movie's real raison d'etre is watching Ice Cube tear up government facilities and blockades with a tank, spout Schwarzenegger-style kiss-off lines, and commandeer the kind of babes and high-tech cars that James Bond usually plays with. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It's even louder and dumber than the first XXX, but if watching things fall down and go boom in a very big way makes you cheer, you're in luck. Read full review
40
Film ThreatClint Morris
Thankfully, there's the relatively-charismatic and cheeky Ice Cube hogging the lens. Read full review
40
Village VoicePeter L'Official
The winking title X Cubed somehow eluded the makers of this sequel, along with plot coherency, character development, or clever explosions of genre convention. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
What isn't scary--or exciting, amusing or fun--is XXX: State of the Union, a movie so preposterous, cliché-packed and over the top that it makes the original "XXX" seem as good as the original "State of the Union." Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
One can give Ice Cube props for attitude, but not much more. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The special effects excite at first but wear out their welcome. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Loud, dumb and obnoxious. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
10 times too much, a nonstop orgy of bullets, bombs, and booty that aims low and hits the bull’s-eye with enough firepower to sink the Bismarck. Read full review
25
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Has to be one of the most absurd of all big-budget action movies, and that's saying something. It's just a blink away from over-the-top self-parody, and I'm pretty sure it's not trying to be. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Critics are inclined to describe the action in films like "XXX" and Lee Tamahori's sequel, XXX: State of the Union, as "cartoon violence." I'll resist doing that out of respect for cartoons. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The most gratifying thing about xXx: State of the Union is that nobody wastes much time on character, motivation, plausibility, dialogue or sex -- all that slow stuff that drags down ordinary movies. Read full review
20
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
The makers of State of the Union subscribe to the Jerry Bruckheimer big-bang theory of action (big, bigger, biggest), but they don't share that maestro's attention to detail, or apparently his deep pockets. The state of this cinematic union is shabby indeed. Read full review
20
Washington PostStephen Hunter
So primitive, it must have been written in lizard blood on animal skin. Read full review
12
Philadelphia InquirerDavid Hiltbrand
Appalling sequel. Read full review
0
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
How bad does it get? How far past the basement can one elevator go? Read full review
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