I happened to catch the movie xXx over the weekend. You know, the one being hailed as this generation’s version of James Bond. Well, much to my own shock, I really enjoyed this film thanks to a surprise in its cast I had not been aware of. It’s true the movie is full of enough action to even capture and hold the attention of a hyper playstation generation teenage on speed, stars Vin Diesel of Pitch Black and The Fast and The Furious fame, has over the top special effects, and more, but what made the film for me was Vin Diesel’s co-star, Asia Argento. Don’t get me wrong, all the stuff about the film I just listed is great and if you are a fourteen year old boy looking for an idol or a woman of any age, Vin Diesel alone is worth seeing this film for. But if you are an adult male who prefers good acting or an Italian film buff, don’t abandon all hope on this movie. The acting is there embodied in Asia, who is the reason above all others you should watch this film.

I confess, I have long been a fan of Asia’s father, Dario Argento, the legendary Italian director. If you are not familiar with Dario or his work, you should be. His very first film was the classic Once upon a Time in the West. He went on to make films like Deep Red, Opera, and Suspiria. To this day, Suspiria is still hailed as one of the most frightening films ever made. Thus, thanks to Dario, Asia got her start in the business at an early age. She has starred in many of her father’s films from bit roles to headlining star. She is an icon of the Italian Horror film industry almost as much as her father these days. And not only does Asia act, she has written and directed films of her own too. Her two most recent films in the states, as an actress, prior to xXx were a B-budget adaptation of the Cyberpunk master William Gibson’s New Rose Hotel and the internationally released French film Les Morsures de l’aube. Now xXx has introduced her to the world of high budget American blockbusters at long last. All this by age twenty four. Asia may one day yet live up to the legacy of her father or perhaps even surpass the man known as the “Hitchcock of Italy”. I am sure Dario is bursting with pride.

In xXx, Asia plays an agent from the now dissolved Soviet Union who has been forgotten about during her country’s political upheaval and strife. Her character has spent the last two years trapped undercover as a member of a terrorist group intent on global destruction called Anarchy ‘99. An American agent, “X”, played by Diesel, shows up and is on much the same mission she was originally assigned. Together, they blow things up, save the world, and fall in love in the process.

This is a film that will keep you not only laughing as Diesel and Argento play off each other in a witty battle of words with a powerful on screen chemistry, but will also keep your hands white-knuckled, clutching your seat’s armrests as Diesel out races an avalanche on a snowboard, parachutes out of a flying car, and drives just like he did in the already cult classic The Fast and The Furious.

As I said, I normally detest films like these, but xXx actually won me over so entirely, I am already longing to watch it again. James Bond doesn’t stand a chance against this new type of super spy who doesn’t drink and hates smoking (which parents will love) but also engages in every extreme sport imaginable and still gets the girls. Vin Diesel as “X” is hipper, tougher, and way cooler than Bond without question. So if you see only one action film this year, make it xXx or you’ll really be missing out on the spy icon of the next generation.