By John Corrado

The 2002 action film xXx has now arrived in a new Blu-ray edition to coincide with both the film’s 15th anniversary, as well as the release of the franchise’s latest instalment xXx: Return of Xander Cage, which just came to theatres this past weekend.

A solid box office hit of its time, xXx follows Xander Cage (Vin Diesel), a thrill-seeking extreme sports athlete who, in exchange for staying out of jail, is recruited by NSA Agent Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to help the United States government infiltrate and take down a Russian crime ring run by the villainous Yorgi (Marton Csokas).

I haven’t seen the new film yet so can’t comment on that one, but xXx still holds up as a pretty entertaining early-2000s action flick.  Chock full of cool gadgets, over the top stunts and a screenplay filled with cheesy one-liners, the film offers a celebration of excess that delivers exactly what you want in terms of dumb fun, built around Vin Diesel’s playful performance.  Fans won’t be disappointed with this new edition, which looks and sounds as good as it ever did.

The Blu-ray also comes packed with commentary by director Rob Cohen, the new piece Origins of a Renegade which includes a brief look at the latest film, a multitude of other “behind the scenes” material including two production diaries and an arsenal of featurettes that delve into the props and special effects used in the film, as well as deleted scenes and a pair of music videos.  It’s a healthy dose of supplements that helps make this a wholly worthwhile release.

xXx: 15th Anniversary Edition is a Sony Pictures release.  It’s 124 minutes and rated 14A.