Sadly Over-hyped

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The acting in this movie is really good.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Okay, so Jet Li is always at the top of his game. He has a list of good films under his belt ( Once Upon a Time in China series, Black Mask, Hit-man, Legend of the Swordsman, The Bodyguard from Beijing, Lethal Weapon 4, Hero, Danny the Dog, Born to Defence, Fearless, Fong-Sai Yuk, High Risk ) and some real stinkers ( My Father is a Hero, Doctor Wai & the Scripture w/ No Words, The Master, The One, Romeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon ).Rapper-Actor DMX is once again his co-star ( he had a brief role in "Romeo" ) and doesn't speak that much, but when he does it is often some 'ghetto' speech and/or expletive that isn't funny nor is it meaningful to the script in any way. Fromer Cinematographer/Director Andrez Bartoziak ( he directed the lame "Romeo" ) inserts anything gratuitous that he can find. This ranges from a sexy striptease by Gabriel Union to extra blood. The plot is almost non- existent and you just might forget what it's supposed to be about if you go to sleep out of boredom. Rap and Pop music is churned out now and then, but it has no meaning in this movie. Mark Dascascos is given hardly any character development; Kelly Hu ( The Scorpion King ) is just a bad-girl who's bad for no reason and ends up in a girl fight just because she can. Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson are literally the only saving graces in this entire film due to their delicate sense of humor and timing, but they have no real place in the story either besides helping our unlikeable heroes help defeat their enemies with a tank ( Where'd they get a tank?) and near the end of the movie, after Jet Li defeats Dascoscos in a unrealistic "boss fight" w/ some nuclear crystal thing ( ? ), Arnold & Anderson comment on how they should get the the entire cast and film crew together to make a film where they are the stars and then they comment on what the film should have really been like ! It's like they intentionally made a bad film on purpose, even though this wasn't going to make as much money as BAD BOYS II or THE MATRIX RELOADED/REVOLUTIONS. So in the end, it's like this film was trying to be a parody of itself and other Action/Adventure movies, but didn't really convey it's message ( which there is none to be found ) really well. It's just passable and if you want to see the end credits for free, then you can just go to online to "YouTubeDotCom." Also, this director made other bad movies like "Exit Wounds" and "Doom." Avoid him in the future if you want quality !

Hollywood movie producer Joel Silver knows a thing or two about making white-knuckled, adrenalin-laced, edge-of-the-seat action thrillers. Call it the Silver formula. Typically, two hardbodied heroes mismatched from the get-go fight a heinous, larger-than-life hoodlum with an army of heavyweight henchmen in a high stakes battle of life and death. The Silver formula features sexy, hot-bloodied sirens; abducted adolescent girls, and bleeding-edge, high-tech hardware. Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte started the ebony & ivory pairing of protagonists in the earliest Silver-produced epic "48 HRS" (1982). Later, Silver teamed up Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the "Lethal Weapon" series as well as Lawrence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves for "The Matrix" trilogy. Abducted adolescent girls figure prominently in Silver hits like "Commando" (1985), "The Last Boy Scout" (1991), and "Swordfish" (2001). Like Jerry Bruckheimer of "Armageddon" fame and the James Bond producers, Silver has concocted his own sure-fire formula for implausible but entertaining actioneers and turned it into a lowbrow art form. The latest saga with the Silver lining "Cradle 2 The Grave" (*** out of ****) exemplifies the formula in virtually every respect. Hong Kong martial arts star Jet Li teams up with rapper-actor DMX in a hip-hop, heist shoot'em-up about stolen black diamonds, a kidnapped 9-year old, and a new sample of wild, way-out weaponry. Although it easily tops "Romeo Must Die," the slickly-produced and efficiently directed "Cradle 2 The Grave" doesn't boast the action quota of previous American-made Jet Li flicks such as "Kiss of the Dragon" and "The One." Nevertheless, "C2TG" consistently delivers action, action, action with enough twists and turns to make things interesting. Furthermore, a frantic chase with DMX on a 4-wheeler rivals the Matt Damon chase in an Austin-Mini in "The Bourne Identity." Meanwhile, Jet Li displays a different style of fighting and brings a harder edge to his good guy character."C2TG" opens with a suspenseful high-tech jewel robbery. Tony Fait (Earl Simmons, a.k.a Dark Man X of "Belly") and his ice-cool heist crew: Tommy (Anthony Anderson of "Barbershop"), Miles (Drag-On of "Exit Wounds"), and ex-stripper martial artist Daria (Gabrielle Union of "Deliver Us From Eva") steal 50 black diamonds. Not only are these exotic diamonds (resembling a cross-between of lug nuts and aspirin) extremely rare, but also their size belies their extraordinary value. During the heist, Fait gets a call on his cell. Taiwanese Intelligence Officer Su (Jet Li of "Rome Must Die") informs Fait that he has alerted the authorities and they are scrambling to bust him. Fait and company effect a tense, hair- raising escape that involves riding atop a subway train. After his buyer turns up murdered, Fait consults his friendly neighborhood fence Archie (Tom Arnold of "True Lies") about his haul. Archie owns a military surplus store with an arsenal of combat equipment, including a tank. A former Taiwanese secret agent-turned-crime boss Ling (Mark Dacascos of "Brotherhood of the Wolf") wants the diamonds, so he kidnaps Fait's precocious 9-year old daughter Vanessa (newcomer Paige Hurd) and holds her for ransom. Su reveals that the diamonds belong to Taiwan. Reluctantly, Fait teams up with Su rescue Vanessa and recover the gems.Nothing particularly surprising occurs in "C2TG," but Polish-born director Andrzej Bartkowiak of "Exit Wounds" pulls out all stops to make the action look spectacular. DMX jacks a 4- wheeler and takes the police on a careening chase that turns into a demolition derby. This exciting pursuit scene is alone worth of price of admission. After DMX loses the cops, he rides the 4-wheeler across rooftops, leaping from one rooftop to the next! Bartkowiak and his writers emphasize plot over character. Nothing extraneous cramps the action in "C2TG." Jet Li and DMX compliment each other in their dialogue scenes as well as their action scenes. Nevertheless, Li outshines DMX. Early in "C2TG," agent Su breaks into an apartment by dropping bodily from one balcony to the next, grabbing each with his hands. Jet Li also demonstrates a new style of kung fu. He kicks butt with brazen nonchalance while keeping one hand stuck in his pocket. Although the Jet Li protagonist is a good guy, he looks dangerous and behaves like the bad guy he played in "Lethal Weapon IV." Bartkowiak relies on the antics of comedian Anthony Anderson and Tom Arnold to offset some of the more unsavory scenes in this R-rated melodrama. Predictable as it is, "Cradle 2 The Grave" nevertheless delivers everything a good solid crime thriller should. Die-hard Jet Li fans may quibble about the ensemble material, but "C2TG" gives Li a chance to change his fighting style and heroic character.

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.