Dir: Rob Cohen. US. 2002. 124mins.

While the film-making on show here is about as sophisticated as an episode of Baywatch, XXX possesses a powerful quality which has been lacking from most studio-level action adventures in some time: an attitude. A perfect vehicle for its viciously charismatic star Vin Diesel, XXX is a post-modern action movie in which you know the hero is going to win every fight: the fun is in finding out how arrogantly he can do it. Revolution Studios began work on a sequel before the film opens in the US this week (Aug 9), indicative of the brash confidence at play in this venture which is as critic-proof as it is mindlessly enjoyable. It will be a monster hit at the box office, and wide audiences from Tennesee to Timbuktu will embrace it. Teenage boys, however, will particularly love it.

Diesel's character Xander Cage aka XXX is a daredevil thrillseeker wanted by the cops who passes a rigorous test procedure to become a secret agent for the US government. He is reckless, wildly arrogant and duplicitous. He is amoral, sexually promiscuous and delighted with his looks. Like the super-obnoxious rap stars who sell millions of records with their urban poetry about crime, womanising and violence, Cage is a figure tailor-made to be lionised by the male teens of 2002.

His first appearance on screen has him stealing the car of a US senator who supports censorship of pop music and video games. In that respect, he bears no resemblance to the action hero of old played by Stallone or Schwarzenegger - good men who are wronged and fighting for justice. He is a rebel from the outset.

And for all his brazen brawn and lack of polish, Diesel exhibits plenty of charm and delivers some great one-liners - factors which will bring in women fascinated by his masculine allure. Heavily tattooed, sporting a shaved head and the body of a Mr Universe, he sticks a finger up at the image of secret agents as suave and cultured. He is unequivocally the new action star on the block.

The movie itself, directed by the efficient Rob Cohen (who directed Diesel in last year's hi-octane The Fast And The Furious), is a thrill-ride which borrows and steals from every 007 movie ever made. Xander's nemesis - ex-Russian army commander Yorgi (Csokas) - has plans to release deadly poison gases onto every city in the world, kicking off with Prague, which for once doesn't double for another city. His NSA commander (read M) is the hard-bitten agent Gibbons played by Samuel L Jackson, his gadget-provider (read Q) is a young technical whizzkid played by Toby Lee Shavers, his love interest is a Russian secret agent (Asia Argento) who has infiltrated Yorgi's inner circle.

The plot merely serves to showcase one action scene after another which could have been lifted out of any number of extreme sports documentaries. Snowboarding away from an avalanche, performing unthinkable stunts on a motorbike or driving off a suspension bridge (deliberately), XXX sure knows how to beat the bad guys.

Prod cos: Revolution Studios
US dist: Columbia Pictures
Int'l dist: Columbia TriStar
Exec prods: Arne L Schmidt, Todd Garner, Diesel, George Zakk
Prod: Neal H Moritz
Scr: Rich Wilkes
Cinematography: Dean Semler
Prod des: Gavin Bocquet
Eds: Chris Lebenzon, Paul Rubell, Joel Negron
Music: Randy Edelman
Main cast: Diesel, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas, Samuel L Jackson, Michael Roof, Thomas Ian Griffith