Cradle 2 The Grave

After just escaping from their latest jewellery heist, Fait (DMX) and his crew only have a bag of extremely rare black diamonds to show for their trouble. The problems are just beginning however as word has hit the street about the crew's spoils, making the diamonds very hot property indeed. The local mob boss wants them, a gangster has flown in to collect them and Taiwanese agent Su (Li) has orders to get them back.

Coming from action flick producer Joel Silver and the director of Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds, this movie does exactly what it says on the tin. Big fights, big car chases and big explosions.

This is good, old-fashioned action fare, mixing eastern martial arts and western stunts and pyrotechnics. The plot is nonsense, the dialogue is farcical but they are used sparingly to move the movie on to the next action sequence but we don't expect anything more from a movie like this. Lets face it these films are not life changing art but outlandish pieces of popcorn entertainment.

Jet Li is as good as ever. He is tremendous in the fight scenes and has a look of hardened warrior who could take on any adversary. His fights do tend to use too much "wire work" for my liking but there is no denying his martial arts talents. DMX isn't the best actor in the work but the rapper turned thespian does have a powerful screen presence and can handle himself in a fight.

The two leads have good support from a less annoying Anthony Anderson, a better Tom Arnold (keep watching the credits for their comedy sketch) and the beautiful Gabriella Union. The villains are suitably over the top and excessively cruel. The much-underrated Mark Dacascos is a martial arts talent that is sparingly underused but comes into his own in the climatic scenes and Kelly Hu shows a real talent for action.

Producer Joel Silver and director Andrzej Bartkowiak deliver another all action "Rap-Fu" movie that is much the same as their previous collaborations. While the whole thing might be extremely over the top and stupid beyond believe you can't help enjoying yourself watching it.

'Choreography Of The Camera' featurette, 'Ultimate Fighting Champions' featurette, 'The Descender Rig' featurette, 'Time Lapse Montage' and 'Rear Projection' Easter Eggs (hidden features), DMX 'X Gon' Give It To Ya' music video, Trailer, Interactive menu & Scene access

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2003