Sony once again hits us with not only a double dip, but a triple dip release of xXx. What started out as a Special Edition, evolved into a Superbit release, and has now ultimately become the Uncensored Unrated Director’s Cut of the film. What is different this time around you ask… well, you get 8 more minutes of action and skin.
Let me guess… you want more specifics don’t you? Well here is what has been added… The scene with the girl “dancing” in Xander’s room has been extended. The…single girl in Yorgi’s bed turns into three naked girls. The gunfight at the end has been extended. And a scene has been added with a young girl talking to Xander on a plane. Each of these scenes can be viewed in the Deleted Scenes section on the Special Edition release.
By now you should know the premise, but here is a brief synopsis provided by Sony: “A New Breed Of Secret Agent… A charismatic extreme sports competitor, Triple X (Diesel) is recruited by a government agent to infiltrate a Russian crime ring led by a mysterious figure called Yorgi, which soon sends him through a series of adventures across Europe and elsewhere…”
Video
This disc sports the same transfer as found on the previous Special Edition release of xXx. The 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is free from most digital artifacts and debris. There are a few noticeable specs in the picture at times, but hardly enough to mention. The colors were pretty sharp and accurate, but the darks were often overpowering, making some images hard to make out. Although this disc looks good, the Superbit release still does look better.
Audio
As is the case with the video, this disc also carries with it the same audio track as found on the previous Special Edition release. This disc sports a high energy 5.1 Dolby Digital audio mix. The dialog could have been a little bit cleaner, but the overall audio track is active and powerful. The surrounds are used very nicely to portray the rear effect, and the fronts are loud and clean. The bass is deep and loud, and adds a nice touch to the soundtrack. This disc does not rank up there with the Superbit release of xXx, but it is still very good.
Special Features
This Unrated Edition has many carry-over extras from the Special Edition release, but also adds some new extras to the mix.
These are the extras that have been re-used for this release:
- Director’s Commentary: Rob Cohen lends his voice and thoughts to this very good commentary track. Cohen give a lot of insight into how the film was made, and his dialog is both informative and enjoyable. One downfall of this track is the fact that it is the exact same track used on the Theatrical version of the film… but the Director’s Cut is 8 minutes longer, leaving the timing and accuracy of the dialog a little wonky at times.
- A Filmmaker’s Diary: This 2-part, 40 minute documentary is extremely valuable. It was filmed by handheld video cameras throughout the filmmaking process. We get to see early stage – from pre-production to post-production. The interviews are real and unscripted, and the footage that was shot is very good.
- Making-of Featurettes: Three featurettes are included on this disc, each of which are not overly inspiring, but help to let the viewer further understand the making of the film. The three featurettes that are found here are: “The Vehicles of XXX”, “Designing the World of XXX”, and “Diesel Powered”.
- Visual Effects “How To’s” : This feature allows the viewer to see how three scenes were created with CGI. It is wise to view these scenes with the director’s commentary activated, because without commentary, they are all silent. This feature is good (with commentary), but is not amazing.
- Music Video: Gavin Rosdale’s “Adrenalin” music video is also included.
These are the extras that new to this release:
- The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander: This 4-minute semi-explaination of why Vin Diesel is not in the upcoming xXx: State of the Union release. It is quite cheesy… they could not even get Diesel to shoot this piece, instead they used his stunt double.
- Agent Shaver’s Gadget Presentation: This 4-minute featurette goes over the “toys” used in the film.
- More: Also included are storyboards for 2 scenes (“the avalanche” and “the drug farm”), a trailer for xXx: State of the Union, Multi-Angle Stunts, and a Hatefarm music video for “I Will Be Heard”.
Final Thoughts
What are you looking for in a xXx release? If your answer is the best audio and video presentation, the answer is the Superbit release. If your answer is the most extras and the most action (in terms of both skin and violence), the answer should be this Uncensored Unrated Director’s cut. That being said, if you already own the Special Edition, this disc is not really worth the upgrade.
Special Features List
- Commentary by director Rob Cohen
- Exclusive scene from “XXX State of the Union” – A scene from the new motion picture
- Sneak Peek: The Making of “XXX State of the Union”
- Multi-Angle Stunt Views
- Starz! On the Set: The Making of XXX
- The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander” – a short bridging the two feature films
- Storyboard to Final Film Comparisons
- Agent Shavers
- The End Credit Sequence – Raw and Uncut
- Music Video for Hatebreed
- More…
Screenshots
