Absolutely Fantastic

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Cradle 2 the Grave is set in Los Angeles & starts as a team of professional hi-tech thieves lead by Anthony Fait (DMX) carry out a daring robbery on a top security underground vault used to store valuable diamonds. Fait & his team are after very specific black diamonds which he has been told by his contact are worth a fortune (& all the other millions of $'s worth of diamonds aren't?). However it seems that the black diamonds are in fact mini nuclear weapons that evil Taiwanese baddie Yao Ling (Mark Dacascos) wants to sell to the highest bidder & kidnaps Fait's young daughter Vanessa (Paige Hurd) to try & blackmail Fait into giving them back but the black diamonds have been stolen so he doesn't have them. Fait has no option but to team up with Taiwanese secret service officer Su (Jet Li) in order to get Vanessa back & get the black diamonds & save the world...Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak this is the third & final film in his loosely connected action trilogy coming after Romeo Must Die (2000) also staring Jet Li & the Steven Seagal flick Exit Wounds (2001) which also starred the man named after a make of bike DMX, oh I'm sorry that's BMX isn't it? Right where do I start? First of all I have to admit to rather enjoying Cradle 2 the Grave for what is, basically a loud flashy Hollywood action flick that ignores realism & plot & goes for the wow factor. There are a couple of things that really stand out about Cradle 2 the Grave for me, first the story is so poor & weak it's untrue. There's no real plot to speak of, just a loosely connected precession of overblown ever more outrageous action set-pieces. The second thing are those action set-pieces which are often marvellously entertaining, from quad bike chases through Los Angeles to spectacular fight scenes to exploding helicopters to daring heists to shoot-outs to all sorts of vehicular mayhem & carnage the one thing that Cradle 2 the Grave delivers is on the action front. How can I hate a film that has so many cool action scenes & moves along like a rocket? I can't. Sure the story is secondary, the character's are bland apart from Tom Arnold's funny performance as Archie & there are some seriously questionable moments storytelling wise (someone killing an inmate in prison & then just walking out, how did DMX get out of the car park after his escape by quad bike through Los Angeles since it was surrounded by police & DMX knows where the black diamonds are because he can 'feel' it) but it's entertaining & passes 100 odd minutes. Keep watching as the end credits play since there's a comedy sketch between Tom Arnold & Anthony Anderson just like they did at the end of Exit Wounds & actually end up making a cheeky little reference to that film & director Bartkowiak.Like most of Jet Li's US output there's plenty of martial arts fights & I would have thought there would have been plenty of wire removal during post production. The fights are well choreographed & often look very flashy. There's car chases, plenty of crashes, bangs, shoot-outs, explosions & action scenes. The film has a fairly light hearted tone with some comic relief & it's nowhere near as gritty or violent as say a Die Hard (1988) for instance. The film looks very flashy with nice camera moves & angles, the hip-hop rap style music irritated me though.According to the IMDb this had a budget of about $25,000,000 which doesn't sound a lot by Hollywood blockbuster standards at all, in fact there's a lot of action on screen here for a relatively low budget if that is the case. Apparently main villain Mark Dacascos was cast in Cradle 2 the Grave after a poll on Jet Li's website asked fans to vote who they would like to see Li fight & Dacascos won which is somewhat surprising. I would have voted for Pee-Wee Herman! Li isn't a great actor & when he isn't fighting he just sort of stands around here & barely says a word. A special mention for Tom Arnold here who puts in a very funny performance.Cradle 2 the Grave is a very entertaining Hollywood action flick & if that's what your looking for then I suppose it delivers in spades but if your looking for any sort of tight exciting story or character's to care about then forget it. Overall I liked it.

This film, in my opinion was disappointing on several scores. The storyline, incredibly weak, almost unfeasible, that gets blown out of proportion. It starts with a fairly reasonable plot: A jewel theft, being tailed by a Taiwan government agent, but gradually evolves into the typical good vs evil, Jet Li and Dmx saving the world from mass destruction. That is what I found so disappointing. Furthermore Jet Li's role as Su, was very two-dimensional, he never said much, or viced an opinion. In fact how much do we actually no about Su? Except he has a daughter!? I found Dmx's role equally as dull. The entire film was packed with clichés and stereotypes, it lacked originality and everything was so predictable. The crime lord in prison has a luxuriously appointed prison cell- was that a subtle way of suggesting his power and influence? Whether it was or not it was unreal... There were several car chases, Dmx managed to make a miraculous escape from a dozen police cars, a helicopter and some bloke on a motorbike... He can also walk twenty feet up walks... even his name "fait" was to stereotyped...The Villain, Ling, was again a "seen-it-all" before disappointment, a man who boasts danger, a martial arts expert, that actually does very little. As far as characters were considered, nothing leaped out.On a more positive note the choreography was refreshing. Jet Li delivered some impressive fighting sequences, particularly the cage-fight, against about fifteen UFC wrestlers and a midget. His stealthy sleek martial-arts style of Wushu is neatly incorporates itself with other fighting styles. Jet Li tends to use the oppositions attack to his advantage, as well as being able to dodge any attack without moving his feet. There is no denying is skill as a master of his art, and despite everybody saying in the street he couldn't do anything, I wouldn't be so sure. Watch Kiss of the Dragon, to show how he can effectively use martial arts in a more street-orientated environment. Sadly, the film is let down by more unrealistic matters, trivial little details that tell you this film cant be taken seriously. For example: Daria, went fighting Kelly-Hu, gets kicked punched and ragged around. But she defeats her enemy by some very fancy arm movement and a machine gun. Surely the director could have come up with something more imaginative than that, as well as not having a scratch on her. But the film really surpassed the realms of reality when Ling, is in a helicopter, the helicopter gets shot by a cannon, it crashes to the ground and explodes to smithereens. But remarkably Ling climbs out of the helicopter without so much as a mark on him. I understand that this is film, but I like reality based films, that have believable and conceivable plots. Don't get me wrong, this film isn't bad, it boasts good action, good choreography and a marginally feasible plot. However, a preempted warning, this film as its flaws, that leaves you wandering. I rated this film 5 out 10: five because of the imaginative choreography, but five off for the rest of it...

I have to admit that I was a little bit too excited, when I gave this rating. It's just that I really like Jet Lee and the other actors, that I was bit over the top here. A 5 or 6 our of ten would've been more appropriate.Nevertheless, this movie has a few things going for it. The thin plot has to be expected, but not the really good stunt work. It's throughout the movie and that's what is really cool about this movie. It doesn't change lanes, it stays were it starts and keeps going. If you don't like the way it started, then you won't like the rest too. But if you enjoyed the first minutes of this film, then you will have a good time.

As always, Jet Li is a great fighter. DMX can't act. This makes 2 things he sucks at. If they had no rappers, the movie would get a 7. This movie is more or less mediocre.Fore Ultimate Fighter fans, there are cameo appearances for ur people :). Jet Li is not good paired up with rappers or "gangstas". DMX sucks. Jet Li is mediocre actor but good actor. The plot is pretty much dull. The movie relies on Jet Li carrying it with his martial arts and DMX and his "gangsta G" rap.It wasn't too bad. Kinda short though. Would suggest Danny the Dog/Unleashed rather than this movie though. That one has some decent acting.