 So
why don't most critics think much of XXX, the movie? And,
why do audiences love this runaway hit? Could it be that movie reviewers
tend to live in a passing post-modern age, which is very different
than the world that the younger Gen-X group lives in? I truly believe
this is the case. Clueless movie reviewers gave Vin Diesel's Fast
and Furious low marks, but Gen-Y and Gen-X made this a mega hit. Generally
however these out-of-it critics do tend to grasp the fact that Vin
Diesel has snared the X-factor. Critic
Vanessa Sibbald in the Los Angeles Daily News gets it right when
she writes that Diesel has "become the James Bond for the 21st
century ... 007 taken to the X-treme."
 Famous
film critic Roger Ebert is right on when he writes, "The filmmakers
have broken down the James Bond series into its inevitable components,
constructed a screenplay that rips off 007 even in the small details,
and then placed Diesel at the center of it--as Xander Cage, extreme
sports hero and outlaw. In its own punk way, "XXX" is
as good as a good Bond movie, and that's saying something."
What
I found so interesting about this film is not so much the similarities
between James Bond and Xander Cage (Vin Diesel), but rather the
differences. In other words, how is the new millennial Super Spy
different from the postmodern (1950-99) James Bond? Indeed to see
the differences here is to better understand the new culture that
is emerging.
James
Bond, though an independent thinker, was always a company man. He
was what we would term an organizational man. Xander Cage is an
outsider that the organization needs to bring in. We saw the same
scenario in the recent film Bad Company. In today's world successful
organizations seek out  entrepreneurial
and creative types, the outsiders.
Xander
Cage is more centered on a central relationship than is the womanizing
James Bond. Cage develops the friendship before the romantic relationship.
Unfortunately, sexual intercourse is too common with both super
heroes. It loses its uniqueness.
There
is the obvious difference in dress. Bond is inclined towards
suits and ties. He would feel right at home with wealthy socialites
at a formal dinner party. You might say he is a man in black. Cage,
on the other hand, is dressed for extreme sports. There is a scene
with Cage in a pricey restaurant; it is obvious he doesn't fit in.
Cage is the ultimate individual creating his own reality, yet within
a social structure of friends.
Bond
is not given to much creativity. Generally in his films
he is assigned a collection of spy weapons and gadgets to use for
each assignment and he uses each one as directed. Cage is given
similar spy gadgets, but doesn't necessarily follow the manual.
He seeks more creative uses. In fact the collection of gadgets given
to Cage is much more diverse and less specific than with Bond.
 Both
Cage and Bond connect to the Sherlock Holmes stream. They
both use the legendary Sherlockian deductive logic. There is a fabulous
scene at the beginning of the XXX film when Cage is in a restaurant
and he deduces what's really going on. The difference is that Cage
mixes extreme action with deductive logic. This is a significant
point. The emerging age does not do away with the past, but rather
it benefits from it by incorporating it into its own unique fashion.
In
terms of spirituality, the film is thin. But it does resonate
with some spiritual principles, and I believe that it has certain
spiritual application. Those include:
 The
Inclusion of the Outsider. This was a principle that Jesus
taught. Jesus always sought out the outsiders, people with HIV-like
leprosy, Samaritan outcasts, prostitutes and sinners.
The
value of giftedness. Cage certainly had talents and gifts.
And they were put to use. I often feel that one of the problems
with the modern-era church is that it doesn't offer a place for
the creative talents and gifts that so many of its parishioners
have.
The
tension between the creative individual and the organization.
It is easy to forget that the creative process is social and not
just individual. Churches, and other organizations, need to be more
accepting of the creative individual by encouraging a social environment
that values independent thought.
 The
value of those who are different. We embrace Cage. Cage
is the outsider and we value him. We are all outsiders in some way.
For me, it is reassuring to know that God values my uniqueness and
makes room for it. I pray that the church, the corporate world,
governments and even social structures will learn the importance
of making place for differences and will come to value outsiders,
as God truly does.
Long
live in Xander Cage, XXX. X-treme outsider.
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