When the first \"xXx\" movie opened in 2002, it was heralded as the film that would take the secret agent genre into the 21st century. But then James Bond hit back with the action-packed \"Die Another Day\" and Matt Damon started to make his presence felt in the Jason Bourne movies. So can this sequel shift the balance of power once again even though original star Vin Diesel isn't on board? Quite simply, no. This amazingly OTT and cheesy adventure sees Agent Augustus Gibbons (once again played by Samuel L. Jackson) bust his former army buddy Darius Stone (Ice Cube) out of jail and recruit him as the new \"xXx\". Together they must try and get to the bottom of a conspiracy involving a potential coup d'etat on American soil.Loud, bad and\u2026well just bad - this is perhaps one of the most laughable sequels ever to make its way to the big screen. With more cliches and one-liners than most franchises can pack into a series of films, \"The Next Level\" will surely be challenging for some Razzies at next year's celebration of Hollywood's worst thanks to its risible plot and utterly senseless violence while Ice Cube's attempt to play an action hero defies belief. At least in the first film Vin Diesel had some muscles and attitude but the rather 'cuddly' Cube is more of an oval and fails to convince us that he could beat an egg, let alone an entire army. And he's a real charmer to boot, seductively telling an ex flame that the car she leant him was the \"second best ride\" of his life.Director Lee Tamahori meanwhile - the man who tried to turn James Bond into an extreme sports star in \"Die Another Day\" - seems to have gone to the Michael Bay school of directing here, shooting every scene with the ethos that if it moves blow it up - and if it doesn't move blow it up. And that's a shame because you get the feeling there's a decent idea for a film here - or at least a plot outline for a future series of \"24\".<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","fnc":"googleTrackerHelper.doTrackPage( '\/'Next-film_options~12616'\/Reviews\/ViewAll\/1' );"}