5-05-05, 8:44 am

Well crafted high-calibre action XXX2 - The Next Level (15) Directed by Lee Tamahori

From Morning Star Online
THE late leader of the Black Panthers Hewy P Newton would no doubt be rolling round his grave laughing at the antics of the black brothers going to the aid of the master in the White House.

This over-the-top-action film does everything that Hitchhiker's Guide doesn't - it provides a vehicle for political satire that's guaranteed to have the cheap seats rolling in the aisles.

So bad, it's good, it stars Samuel L Jackson as the head of a national security team forced to call on the services of Ice Cube to foil an attempt to stop the first coup d'etat in US history.

Well, that's what it says. In fact, it could very well be a calling card for a new James Bond, since the director Lee Tamahori has already made Die Another Day following his debut with the magnificent Once Were Warriors.

It's hysterical, with enough references to the post-World War IIII scenario to have the Hollywood censors checking it for treasonable intent, especially picturing the president (Peter Strauss) as a dangerous liberal.

As for Willem Dafoe as Secretary of Defence, he conjures up an image of an irate Rumsfeld when the president declares innocently: 'We need to review this isolationist policy. We need friends.'

Ice Cube does a take on Mr T as the hard man with a heart of gold as he beats up the bad guys and drives customised cars while charming a bevy of women with cleavages that resemble the Grand Canyon.

Carefully crafted high-calibre action with some wonderful one-liners about saving capitalism for the criminals and telling the racists that, if they want to be liked, 'not to wear bed sheets, burn crosses nor kill black people.'

Fun and funny.