Cradle 2 the Grave (Widescreen Edition)
by Andrzej Bartkowiak
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Anderson, DMX, Jet Li, Kelly Hu, Mark DacascosDirector: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Gil Williams
Producer: Herb Gains
Producer: Joel Silver
Producer: Melina Kevorkian
Producer: Ray Copeland
Writer: Channing Gibson
Writer: John O'Brien
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); Korean (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-01
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Cradle 2 the Grave (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: Li's Disappointment, DMX's Blunder, Bartkowiak's Failure
Summary: 2 Stars
Too much hip-hop and not enough action - that's my consensus when it comes to the third installment of director Andrej Bartkowiak's martial arts trilogy. What began as Jet Li's first American solo vehicle and spawned a remarkably good Steven Seagal adventure has turned into a film where DMX is supposed to be the top star but needs constant rescuing from a man who's lucky to have a dozen lines throughout the script (Li). With the exception of the soundtrack, everywhere you look - the action department, the humor section, and even the poorly-anticipated acting level - the film falls short, and leaves me unsurprised that Bartkowiak's following couple of films were the flops that they were.
The storyline follows a quartet of thieves - played by DMX, Gabrielle Union ("Bad Boys II"), Anthony Anderson ("The Departed"), and Drag-On ("Exit Wounds") - who come to realize that their recent jewel heist was not the easy money-maker that they thought it was: when Anthony Fait's (DMX) daughter is kidnapped by a vicious arms-dealer (Mark Dacascos, "Brotherhood of the Wolf") seeking the return of his stolen black diamonds, the group is approached by a Taiwanese intelligence officer (Li) who's more than aware of how dangerous both the dealer and his jewels really are.
For starters, the significance of the diamonds is complete and utter nonsense, even from an action fan who thought the heroin-soaked t-shirts of "Exit Wounds" were cool. In addition, the comic relief of the returning Tom Arnold ("Exit Wounds") is overdone to an excruciating extent: what began as a white man acting silly in a black man's world has turned into me wondering who the heck would even talk the way he does, much less pull some of his idiotic physical stunts. Seriously, he's starting to come across as mentally challenged.
Then again, alongside DMX, most anybody looks passable: I really do not see the rapper as an actor, and this push to the top of the cast list came way too early for him. His younger co-star Drag-On has already passed him on the dramatic scale, and he looks positively bland next to Gabrielle Union and Anthony Anderson. Li has next to nothing to do as far as acting goes - a shame, considering his character in "Romeo Must Die" - but even he does a better job than better than Mark Dacascos, who is one of my favorite martial artists but should not have been made a villain - at least not a starring one.
The action ought to be good in the layman's book, but comes across as deficient when considering the content of "Romeo" and "Exit Wounds". There are approximately two chase scenes and five hand-to-hand showdowns. One of the chases is old-hat, but the other features DMX on a quad and ends up in a stairwell, so that's cool. The martial arts showdowns can be grouped into the good Jet Li vs. cage fighters scene (featuring Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, and Chuck Liddell), the halfway-decent Li & DMX vs. two henchmen (featuring Johnny Nguyen, "The Protector") and Li vs. Dacascos showdowns, and the rather silly Gabrielle Union vs. Kelly Hu ("X2") and DMX vs. Woon Young Park ("Dragon Storm") encounters. Largely the only reason I bought the movie was to watch Li and Dacascos go at it, but all their fight is is a one-sided beat-up-the-Hawaiian that's much slower than what I've come to expect from a Jet Li brawl. As a whole, the fighting scenes feature less (or less-apparent) wirework than Bartkowiak's previous installments, but are far from choreographer Corey Yuen's best work.
I'm not sure if this is the result of Bartkowiak taking his work too seriously or him just losing his nerve for the whole kung fu/hip-hop thing, but in the end, all that matters is that "Cradle 2 the Grave" is not up to par when it comes to the director's previous two films. Fans of them, however, probably won't be able to help themselves from giving this a watch, but folks who are just curious for good action need to look somewhere else.
Summary of Cradle 2 the Grave (Widescreen Edition)
When his daughter is kidnapped and held in exchange for diamonds, the leader of a crew of highly skilled urban thieves (DMX) forges an unlikely alliance with a Taiwanese Intelligence officer (Jet Li) to rescue her. Their race against the clock to find the precious stones ultimately unravels a plot to distribute a deadly new weapon of war.DVD Features:
Documentaries:"Ultimate Fighting Champions": Profiles on the martial artists and how they were incorporated in the movie "Choreography of the Camera": includes multi-angle car chases
Featurette:"The Descender Rig": Features camera invention that was made for the movie
Music Video:DMX's "X Gon' Give It to Ya"
Other:2 Hidden Bonuses: "Time Lapse Montage" Behind-the-scenes footage and "Rear Projection" featurette on the subway sequence
Theatrical Trailer
The intriguing cross-pollination of rap and kung-fu continues with Cradle 2 the Grave, co-starring high-profile rapper DMX and Hong Kong superstar Jet Li. Master thief Fait (DMX) hits a diamond exhange but comes away with a bag of black gems of mysterious origin. When a crime kingpin steals the gems from Fait, an international arms dealer kidnaps Fait's beloved daughter--and Fait can only get her back with the help of Su (Li), a Taiwanese intelligence agent tracking the gems himself. A summary of the plot doesn't do Cradle 2 the Grave justice; while the basic story elements suggest a dozen generic action flicks, the cast (including Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union, and Kelly Hu) has genuine charisma and the movie layers action on top of action to strong effect. All in all, a much more engaging thrill ride than you'd expect. --Bret Fetzer
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