En sursis

"Cradle 2 The Grave" is an action movie by the same people who brought you Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds... And it shows. Skeleton-thin story, two-dimensional characters, and action for action's sake. Usually when you watch an action movie - not always, but usually - the action scenes serve as a means to tie the story together. In this movie, the exact opposite is true. Therefore, the flow of narrative serves only to fill the gaps between scenes where Jet Li unleashes Wushu fury on his opponents, who for the most part tend to be guys who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The action is well done, don't get me wrong, but for some reason Jet Li just seems uncomfortable here. Perhaps it's just the role he was given, but for some reason he never quite "clicked" with everything else that was going on.

Another gripe I had about the movie is that we're told who everyone is by other characters. Instead of showing Jet's history with the villain portrayed by Mark Dacascos, we just hear Jet saying "We used to be on the same side, he betrayed us, etc. etc." This keeps things going along at a fast pace, but personally I like my movies fleshed out a little bit - even a flashback scene would have been enough. Since it's not, the final battle really doesn't mean anything. Oh well, I guess I'm just asking too much.

I suppose that after "Kiss of the Dragon" and even "The One" I was expecting Jet Li's U.S. track record to improve, not slide backwards 3 years, to "Romeo Must Die" status. Perhaps after "Hero" is released state side we'll start getting some good projects from Li. Until then, we'll have to deal with more DMX (Get At Me, Dawg!) movies.

For now, I'll continue to watch Fist of Legend. If you haven't, I recommend you see that rather than this.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Cradle 2 the Grave. A week before it came out I hit the official web page and was excited to learn that Mark Dacascos (The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, Brotherhood of the Wolf) and Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King, X-Men 2) were in the movie. The real reason I was waiting for the movie was of course Jet Li.

Over all, I have to say that the movie left me unimpressed. DMX gives a terrible performance. It's not consistently bad, but when he breaks out into highly emotional scenes he stinks.

Tom Arnold is also in this movie, and is funny in his Tom Arnold way. He's basically the comedic relief, exploiting his fish-out-of-water position (he's a middle age white guy who's main associates throughout the movie are young African-Americans) for laughs. And love or hate the guy, he will make you laugh. He's good in supporting roles, just think of him in True Lies. Similar effect here.

Bad dialogue and acting can be forgiven, but two things are unpardonable: Not giving Jet Li enough to do, and the misuse of Mark Dacascos and Kelly Hu. Apparently they forgot that Jet Li is an international star, and while DMX is known for his music he can't act to save his life. The primary focus of the story should have been on Jet Li's character, not DMX's. Simple common sense--use your star. The star of this movie ain't DMX, it's Jet Li.

Those who have seen Mark Dacascos in Brotherhood of the Wolf know that he can kick some serious tail. All that is wasted since his fight with Jet Li is a pathetically wasted effort, and his only fight in the movie. Kelly Hu, an emerging star soon to be seen in X-Men 2, should have been given more screen time. Sure, she has a fight, but one can't help but feel that she also was misused.

Kung-Fu and Hip-Hop are a bad mix. Producer Joel Silver can't seem to get that through his head, and I doubt he will anytime soon since Cradle 2 the Grave took the number one spot at the box office on it's opening weekend. The fact of the matter is Jet Li carries this mediocre effort all the way. That's a lot of weight for one man to carry, but he does it. Hopefully he'll get back to starring in movies that exhibit his abilities, not stick him in the passenger seat of a stinker driven up by a recording artist.

Joel Silver and Andrzej Bartkowiak once again brings us another Rap Star/Martial Artist collaboration movie in which I like to call, "Hip-Hop Chopsocky" Flicks. I enjoyed both Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds, however I'm getting the feeling that Silver and Bartkowiak are using a Xerox copy machine to develop the next action flick. Expect everything you saw in the first two films to appear in Cradle 2 The Grave.

Yes, expect all the action sequences to drown the whole plot of the film. Yes, expect DMX to have his hip-hop soundtrack blasting in most of the action scene. Yes, expect the two protaganist of the story to reluctantly get along with each other and then later on to share a common bond at the end of the movie. Yes, expect Jet Li to have the same facial expression throughout the whole film and no more than 10 lines in the movie. Yes, expect the same fat black guy from Kangaroo Jack to be back as the black comic element. Yes, expect Tom Arnold, a guy who was once married to a woman who looked like Kangaroo Jack, to be back as other white comic element of the film. Yes, expect a night club scene and every prop seen in a Hype William music video (i.e. Jacuzzi, champagne, and big booty bitches.) Yes, expect the Rap Star actor do some martial arts of his own. (And I'd like to say to DMX, "Yo dog, stick to rappin', cuz the karate thang ain't you. You got those thin wires making you look good.") And yes, expect Jet Li to fight with his counterpart nemesis, in a ring of fire at the end of the movie. Where the hell is Johnny Cash when you need him!

And as for Jet Li, I do respect him as a martial artist but since he's been making movies in US, his skill have been more half-assed compared to what he did in his Hong Kong Flicks. The scene where Jet fights in a cage match was the only highlight of the film. However, only to be distracted with DMX's action sequences, with camera going from one scene to the other. For me, I'd rather see Jet Li do his stuff than to see DMX being pursued by cops. I live near Oakland and I see that sh*t almost every day.

Overall, I would suggest to save your money and watch Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds at the same time. Or if you don't care what I say...Hell, go spend the $9.00! But remember "the Cradle" is robbing you!

Not a bad movie but nothing spectacular in terms of originality...

DMX beats up some people. Jet Li beats up some people. Gabrielle Union takes (most of) her clothes off (with her fine self). Lots of stuff breaks and blows up.

6 out of 10; I'd wait for the DVD...

If you are in for some entertainment, if you like rap music, and/or martial arts films you will enjoy the music. If you prefer good art cinema, or you really look for logic even in the fun films, this one is not for you. I enjoyed it, but I am not sure that my other, more serious ego would have liked the film in any other situation. This film (can somebody explain me the title) is just entertainment, but what are the James Bond films? 6 out of 10 on my personal scale.