It's enough to make you wonder whether the film was named "XIII" for the number of twists it contains instead of its eponymous amnesia-stricken lead character. The film seems to operate on the premise of quantity over quality when it comes to plot twists the audience is caught off guard simply because there are so many plot revelations to take in. though I found myself "guessing" correctly a little too often. "XIII" has been compared to the Bourne series of films, as well as Fox's long-running hit "24" - and with good reason: The film strives to achieve the same edgy, fast-paced and action-packed vibe of the Bourne series.īut it falls a bit short in the quality department: Rife with plot twists, "XIII" does its very best to keep you guessing what will happen next. It's good to know this going in, as for the first half hour or so I was baffled by what I could only assume were really horrible scene transitions. It was released as a two-part miniseries, and the DVD version comes complete with fade in/out segments for commercials to be inserted. Produced in Canada and originally aired in France, director Duane Clark's "XIII: The Conspiracy" made its U.S. With no one else to turn to, XIII reluctantly agrees to work with the two of them in a plan to use himself as bait to draw out the conspirators. Initially indistinguishable from other government agents are the lovely and deadly Major Jones (Lucinda Davis) and General Carrington (Stephen McHattie), who eventually make contact with XIII and claim they know who he really is and how to help him. While the conspirators want XIII silenced to protect themselves, federal law enforcement has implemented a nationwide manhunt led by the zealous Colonel Amos (Greg Bryk) to apprehend XIII as the prime suspect for the presidential assassination. It is impossible to tell friend from foe as alliances shift and no one is who they seem to be. Life becomes even more complicated for XIII when various government agencies begin confronting him, each trying to bring him down for one reason or another. This comes in handy as he fights his way through wave after wave of bad guys - whom we later discover are determined to prevent XIII from unveiling an elaborate conspiracy to take over the government. Fortunately for XIII, losing his memory doesn't seem to affect his ability to fight like a black belt ninja or fire virtually any weapon known to man. A tiny microchip found inside of XIII's watch soon alerts the bad guys to his location, and they immediately storm the couple's rural home to apprehend XIII for reasons as of yet unknown. There's not much in the way of recovery time, however. Oh, and you're also wanted for yesterday's assassination of the first female president of the United States.Įnter Stephen Dorff's XIII, a forgetful but not forgettable hero who is cared for by a benevolent retired couple after being found unconscious hanging from said tree. On top of that, you have a gunshot wound in your shoulder and are dangling from a tall tree by the straps of a parachute. You don't know what it means, but on your chest is a tattoo that reads XIII. Imagine waking up with no recollection of who - or where - you are.
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