“Cradle 2 the Grave” (Warner Brothers)
If you like your movies full of action, there is nothing better than a Jet Li movie. His latest, “Cradle 2 the Grave,” is one of the most action packed you have ever seen. And in the midst of it all is the whirling dervish known as Li. He makes Jackie Chan look like a tired old man, and he does it all without breaking a sweat.
In the film Li plays a man named Su who is with Taiwan Intelligence. He comes to this country to recover a packet of black diamonds. They have been stolen from Taiwan, but once in the States they are stolen again by a group of thieves led by a man named Fait (DMX). But as soon as he gets the diamonds they are stolen again by another crew of thieves.
The people who think Fait has the diamonds kidnap his daughter Vanessa (Paige Hurd) to try to force Fait to give back the stones. Now Fait and Su have to team up to try to find the stones, rescue his daughter, and save the world from a deadly force. That’s a big order but they get it all done.
In addition to Li and DMX the movie has several scene stealing stars. Comedy is served by the casting of Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson. These two men may never be “stars” but they are great comic “co-stars.” Any movie is made better by their appearances.
Gabrielle Union and Kelly Hu are spirited beauties who end up doing battle against each other. Union is on the side of good while Hu is her polar opposite. They spark up the excitement whenever they appear on screen.
DMX is solid in the leading man role. He is good in his scenes with his daughter as well as the action sequences. But it is Jet Li who is the star. The man is so cool and so contained, and there is just the slightest sense of evil inside him. You can’t take your eyes off of him when he is on screen.
The film is rated R for violence and profanity.
There is no logic in the title “Cradle 2 the Grave” but who cares. This is a movie action junkies have to see. It has all the thrills and all the excitement of ten other so called action films. This is the real McCoy.
I scored “Cradle 2 the Grave” a rock-a-bye 6 out of 10.
©2003 Jackie K. Cooper
