Anyone who tries to earn his living through illegal means should know that life of crime entails some surprises that aren’t always pleasant. This is the lesson learned by the protagonist of Craddle 2 the Grave, 2003 action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. The crew of expert jewel thieves led by Anthony Fait (played by DMX) steal batch of precious black diamonds that were to be handed over to mysterious buyer. Later it turns out that the black diamonds are actually weapons of mass destruction, that the mysterious buyer is sinister international arms dealer called Ling (played by Mark Dacascos) and that Ling’s efforts to obtains weapons are being thwarted by his old associate Su (played by Jet Li), agent of Taiwanese intelligence service. Fait refuses to hand over diamonds and Ling sends his men to abduct Fait’s young daughter Vanessa (played by Paige Hurd). In order to rescue her, Fait and his associates join forces with Su in order to track down abducted girl and thwart Ling’s sinister plans.
Cradle 2 the Grave is the third film in the directorial career of Andrzej Bartkowiak whose two previous films - Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds - featured Chinese martial arts star Jet Li and rap artist DMX respectively. Two of them are joined as “buddy buddy” combination in this film, which was again produced by Joel Silver, legendary producer of 1980s and 1990s action cinema. Originally developed as modern remake of M, influential classic thriller by Fritz Lang, the script for Cradle 2 the Grave dispenses with much of the plot and demands the audience not to think about and instead enjoy combination of explosions, gunfights, chases, “cool” soundtrack and display of martial arts skills. The latter includes even some girl-on-girl action featuring Gabirelle Union as member of Fait’s gang and Kelly Hu as Ling’s top henchwoman. The acting in this kind of film usually isn’t much to write home about, and, like in Exit Wounds, top credited stars are overshadowed by Anthony Anderson and Tom Arnold, talented comedians, who appear to have a time of their life playing supporting characters. Disliked by critics, Cradle 2 the Grave was reasonably successful at the box office and those viewers who approach it without too much expectations would see nothing wrong with public’s initial verdict.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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