XXX 2: The Next Level

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about XXX 2: The Next Level's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of XXX 2: The Next Level completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 27 April 05.

Overall comments and recommendations

XXX 2: The Next Level is a comic book style, high-tech gadgetry action movie, specifically tailored to appeal to adolescent males. It contains continuous violence, sexual innuendo and some coarse language. The film does not offer much in terms of adult entertainment, and is quite mindless and predictable. The stunts, while also quite predictable, are worth viewing and the acting of some of the minor characters is sound. However Ice Cube does not have the charisma to pull off the XXX role.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie XXX 2: The Next Level contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

The film opens with a team of ninja styled soldiers raiding the underground secret headquarters of America 's National Security Agency. They slaughter close to twenty NSA agents, but miss their intended target Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson), who escapes, along with his offsider Tobey (Michael Roof). Gibbons believes the raid was the result of corrupt internal forces, and that a new Agent XXX, is needed to uncover the perpetrators. He recruits Darius Stone (Ice Cube) an ex Navy-seal who currently resides in a high security prison. With assistance from Gibbons Darius manages to escape from prison to become the new agent XXX.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

XXX 2: The next level contains continuous brutal violence from start to end. Although the violence is frequent and brutal, the accompanying blood and gore is relatively low level. The film portrays the consequences of violence in comic book style, and even the most brutal violence, including violence resulting in death, leaves no obvious marks, or blood and gore. Violent scenes include:

• a force of ninja styled soldiers brutally and ruthlessly kill close to twenty NSA agents. Grenades explode, bodies fly through the air, the soldiers stab, impale, shoot, or blow up any NSA agents they encounter.
• Gibbons is brutally pistol whipped to the head
• numerous very violent fist fights
• heads are slammed against walls
• Darius knocks a women unconscious by pistol whipping her across the face
• Gibbons shoots a woman dead without any sign of remorse
• soldiers' bodies are riddled with machine gun bullets
• soldiers are thrown through the air like rag dolls as a result of explosions
• mass murder of politicians
• presidential guards are shot execution style
• Decker has his arm impaled with a knife and pegged to the wall
• the driver of the bullet train is shot in the head at point blank range
• Darius and one of Decker's henchmen have a very brutal and violent fight in which flesh is burnt on a stove, someone is strangled with stay cords and the henchman is blown through the train window as a result of an exploding gas pipe.
• a number of scenes involving high speed car chases with dangerous and reckless driving. Dozens of cars are completely destroyed; however the film does not portray any death, or injury as a result of these incidents.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

The fact that the very brutal violence occurs frequently throughout the film increases the chances of children under eight years being scared by these images. In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, children under eight years of age could be disturbed by:

• loud explosions or gunfire, such as when Gibbons' house explodes
• the visual appearance of the ninja styled soldiers who were completely covered in black including their eyes giving them a dark sinister and menacing appearance.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children between the ages of eight and thirteen could also be disturbed by the violent scenes described above. The continuous and brutal nature of the violence, and the fact that it is performed by heroes who are also criminals, is of particular concern for young adolescent males.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Adolescents over the age of thirteen years will probably not be frightened by the violence in this film. However, there could be negative long term consequences, particularly for adolescent males, that violence is an acceptable way to be successful, including some sexual violence, that violent criminals can be heroes and role models, and that even very brutal violence does not carry any visible real life consequences.

Sexual references

XXX 2: The next level contains several implicit and quite nasty sexual references, including double meanings, and attempts at tongue in cheek humour. Examples include:

• When Darius first escapes from prison, not having any female companionship for ten years he states “You know what I need when I come out of a lock down?” He continues “A burger, coke and fries”
• The other main female character Charlie (Sunny Mabrey), who is very sensuous, says to Darius “If you need anything I'm right down the hall” Darius's response is “I'll have some fries and a shake”.
• Lola states to Darius “something nasty, I can do nasty” Darius replies (obvious sexual reference) “I know you can”.
• Darius states to Lola “remember all that damage we did in the back seat”
• Darius says to a male being sent to prison “with a mouth like yours, they're going to love you on the inside”.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity or sexual activity in this movie; however there are a number of scenes in which very attractive women with extremely sensuous figures are wearing low-cut tops that revealed ample cleavage and short tight fitting dresses. The images are in no way integral to the story line. The main female characters, Lola and Charlie, always wear tops that reveal as much cleavage as possible.

Use of substances

In one scene Darius is disguised as a waiter and hands out champagne to party guests.

Coarse language

Infrequent low level coarse language is scattered throughout the film, including:

• what the hell
• sorry ass
• damn
• bitch
• ass hole.

On one occasion coarse language is used by the President who states “Fuck you”. This is the only occasion that this word is used.

There are a couple of instances where threatening language is used, such as:

• may I borrow those binoculars before I kick your teeth down your throat
• you know you should have killed that bitch

The movie's message

XXX 2: The next level is too senseless to contain any worthwhile or positive take home messages. It could, however, potentially present the audience, particularly adolescent males, with some very negative messages including:

• violence is an acceptable way to achieve what one wants
• it is okay to do car jackings and other criminal acts
• criminals and thugs are heroes and potential role models
• fast, expensive looking cars are highly desirable, as is driving at high speeds

Of further concern to young adolescent males is the comic book manner in which the film represents violence, death and destruction. The film leaves the viewer with the impression that, like a video game, characters do not die, but are deleted from existence without pain or suffering. As a result viewing this film may assist young adolescents in forming an unrealistic impression of violence, injury and death.