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Cast:
DMX
Jet
Li
Anthony
Anderson
Tom
Arnold
Gabrielle
Union
Kelly
Hu
Mark
Dacascos
Action:
Yuen
Kwai
Producer:
Joel
Silver
Director:
Andrzej
Bartkkowiak
Score:
 
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CRADLE
2 THE GRAVE
AKA:
Cradle To The Grave
Year:
2003 Reviewer: Tony
Ryan
Let's
get straight to the point; in my opinion, this is Jet Li's
worst film since his move to the American market in the late
90's. Fortunately for Jet, some of his earlier works (such as
'The
Master') are even worse, but that is no excuse to make a
film so blatantly against his personal philosophy, and for it
to be so poor.
In
reality, Jet Li's performance in the film is not the worst.
However, he seems to take the silent, moody type too far and
not inject any personality into it whatsoever. Not being
helped by a diabolic script and mediocre actors alongside him,
Jet is left with little to do but throw a few punches and look
hard as nails. Which he does!
The
plot centres solely on DMX's character as a "moral"
jewel thief whose daughter is kidnapped when he steals from
the wrong people. Amongst the stash he obtains from his last
job is a bag of 'black diamonds', which are actually the
catalyst for a super-nuclear weapon. His daughter is
kidnapped to make him return them, and with the help of Jet
who wants to take the stones back to Taiwan, they set about
rescuing the most annoying little girl in cinema history.
As
with the almost identical 'Exit Wounds', the whole film
focuses on DMX and his "good criminal" persona (is
there a message here?). Much shooting, fighting and face
pulling ensues, with Jet given nothing to do but provide the
HK fight action. That would not be a bad thing, except the
fights are not particularly well choreographed, and
atrociously filmed. The editing is enough to cause seasickness
and confusion, while Jet's opponents are nothing but meathead
wrestlers and a criminally underused Mark Dacascos.
The
only redeeming features of the film itself are the comedy
relief moments provided by Anthony Anderson and Tom Arnold;
who as always, raise a smile. Unfortunately, the rest of the
film, and DMX in particular, are bad. His arrogant swagger,
hypocritical moral overtones and awkward fight scenes should
have condemned this to video hell. As it stands, Jet Li's US
career looks to be limited and will ultimately be short-lived
if he doesn't start working with a greater variety of
filmmakers. Luc Besson and Joel Silver are clearly not the
best thing for him, and with all that money now in the bank he
can afford to be more demanding.
In
short, this is like an extended episode of Martial Law with an
R rating. If only Sammo was on hand to film the fights
himself. If you loved 'Exit Wounds' and 'Romeo
Must Die', then this is for you. But then again, if you
loved those films, then you must have missed out on some true
action classics and I recommend you browse the review section
before renting another movie.
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