# xXx - In the words of Hank Hill, "What the HELL?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732 "2003-03-16T04:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732/21 "2003-03-18T01:39:33Z")
FTR, xXx’s chica’s name is Asia Argento, and she also made a semi-autobiographical film that is pretty much porn, especially since the “actors” were engaging in actual penetration. ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732/22 "2003-03-18T03:58:26Z")
She has some interesting tattoos. ---
**Author:** ![InTransit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@InTransit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InTransit)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732/23 "2003-03-18T19:37:38Z")
In many scenes, she (Asia) looked just like Moira Kelly, except that I highly doubt Moira Kelly would bare her skin like that. Entertainment Weekly review of _Agent Cody Banks_ said it all for me: > [@](#): > > . . .Agent Cody Banks puts typically juvenile spy jinks (Vin Diesel-tested maneuvers like driving dangerously for no good reason and ogling girls with X-ray glasses) back where they belong: in the hands of a qualified juvenile. " I don’t get Vin Diesel’s appeal. A friend (who likes his looks) describes him as “box of rocks.” We saw xXx only because it was set in Prague and we’d just been to the city a few months before the movie came out. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732/24 "2003-03-18T20:23:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InTransit \* > **I don’t get Vin Diesel’s appeal. A friend (who likes his looks) describes him as "box of rocks."** Heh… I like the EW quote you posted. I would add that Frankie Muniz is at least a better actor than ol’ “box of rocks.” 😃 To give credit where it’s due, Diesel was actually pretty good in _Pitch Black_, as another poster pointed out. However, it bears noting that that was an ensemble cast (like _Alien_ or _The Abyss_), and Diesel had to do very little acting… or talking, for that matter. He had a nice bit at the end, but again, it was more action than acting. He doesn’t have the chops to support a lead role all on his lonesome, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732/25 "2003-03-18T20:46:27Z")
Vin Diesel… _ ~~~droooolllll~~~ _ For me it’s his beautiful bald head and his voice. I know he is not a great actor and xXx was fluff, but damn he’s some eye candy. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732/26 "2003-03-18T21:35:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InTransit \* > \*\*In many scenes, she (Asia) looked just like Moira Kelly. \*\* You noticed that too? I was watching it and thinking “I know her. Where do I know her?” and couldn’t figure it out. I discovered her name, and thought “Never heard of her. Why do I know her?” I went home and looked up pics of her on the net, crikey dickens she’s done some racy stuff, and eventually it hit me - she looks like Moira Kelly (who I’ve had a crush on since _Cutting Edge_). Very eerily similar looking actually. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732/27 "2003-03-18T22:01:53Z")
> [@](#): > > And I have to apologize to Vin Diesel fans here, but while I see that he has a certain rugged, brutish, muscular charm, he’s an abysmal actor. He delivers his lines with one or two stock expressions and almost no inflection. And the way he kisses just looks nasty. Yuch. For a much better (though by no means amazing) performance by Mr. Diesel, go see _Boiler Room_. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732/28 "2003-03-18T22:41:46Z")
I will say one thing about xXx: it pitched well. Somebody walked into a studio office and said four words: “Extreme Sports James Bond.” The studio exec replied “Here’s $50 million. Come back when you need more.” I’m an aspiring screenwriter. “Extreme Sports James Bond” would have never occurred to me in a million years. I will now fling myself out of a window. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xxx-in-the-words-of-hank-hill-what-the-hell/161732.md?page=1)