XXX: Return of Xander Cage Movie Review: Watch It For Deepika Padukone

Let me be quite honest here; my prime motivation for checking out xXx: Return of Xander Cage was to ascertain how well (both quantitatively and qualitatively) has Deepika Padukone fitted into the world of mainstream Hollywood. After all, while there have been instances of Bollywood heroines being exported to Hollywood before as well (the biggest that one can remember is Aishwarya Rai in The Pink Panther 2), generally the trends haven't been too encouraging. Hence, it made all the more important for Deepika Padukone to indeed 'fit in there' and be positioned as a true leading lady, and not just an add on part!

Well people, the heartening fact is that Deepika indeed has a good, if not supremely meaty, role in xXx: Return of Xander Cage! That, when the film is basically all about Vin Diesel playing the central protagonist.

Let me keep my focus on Deepika before I move on to the rest of the film!

First and foremost, she is important to the film and has a definite role to play in the core plotline. Secondly, she is actually the leading lady in there and though Vin is surrounded by a bevy of beauties, it is Deepika who is actually his steady companion. Thirdly, she has a screen time which runs right through the narrative of the film. Fourth, she is a part of quite a few scenes that require her to kick around, play sassy, spray some bullets, bring in her intelligent side and definitely find her place under the sun. Fifth, and very importantly, none of the four points above are forced. She doesn't pave her way in, she belongs there!

This is the reason why it is good to know that the makers of xXx: Return of Xander Cage are not playing the 'Let's bring on an Indian character too in the ensemble and widen the film's appeal' card here. Instead, Deepika plays a part of a young woman who could have belonged to any ethnicity or nationality and still stayed important to the narrative. No wonder, it all seems so natural when Deepika's accent remains untouched instead of aiming to be (annoyingly) fake!

Let me now talk about the film that xXx:Return of Xander Cage is. Well, honestly, after watching Vin in a series of Fast and the Furious flicks, I would have been happier to see him come up with a 'tough guy who has his principles intact' kind of a role. Yes, it is understandable that this is a different franchise with a different characterization. Still, as a franchise it is Fast and the Furious that has a much better recollection power and hence despite the (needless) 3D experience, xXx: Return of Xander Cage turns out to be less of an entertainer.

Of course as you expect from a film belonging to this genre, there are quite a few popcorn sequences in there. Be it the action that unfolds right at the beginning or the one where Vin gets into a bike chase amidst sea waves (wish it was longer) or the car chase sequence around the mid-point (guess what, the one in Ajay Devgn's Shivaay was better executed) or the one in the climax where Vin jumped from the plane (reminding me of less-on-VFX-but-high-on-thrills similar sequence from Akshay Kumar's International Khiladi), you do feel entertained albeit momentarily.

As for the plot and its narrative, a film like xXx: Return of Xander Cage could do better with more suspense, twists and turns. Well, it lacks in each of these departments and hence what you get to see is a plain narrative that just doesn't have any moments that make you go 'Now what was that?' The film stays pretty simple in that aspect and gives you limited dose of everything, be it action, thrills or glamour.

On a regular Friday, this could have been one film that may have just come, entertained for a while, and gone. However, with Deepika Padukone in there, you do want to give it a closer dekko!

Our 'Mastani', who would soon be Padmavati, deserves that!