Cradle 2 the Grave

Review by Clint Morris

“I want the stones. You want your daughter. We can help each other”.

Tony Fait (DMX), a master thief, and Taiwanese cop Su (Jet Li), reluctantly team – with the assistance of some rag-tag members of the Fait crime troupe – to take down a notorious LA Crime lord (Mark Dacascos) who not only has the precious – world threatening – gems, but also Fait’s daughter.

This is an action movie folks. Plot comes second - action comes first.

Obviously realising his potential as an action actor when he first cast him in (Steven Seagal vehicle) Exit Wounds, Joel Silver – the granddaddy of expensive, loud, nonsensical but fun action movies – puts rapper DMX to good use again here, letting him free to kick his way around a room of rogues, as well as giving him a moment to expand as an actor in some tender scenes with his on-screen daughter.

But DMX isn’t the only one Silver has bought in from Exit Wounds – both Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson are also on board, once again bringing to the film some welcomed comic relief, which they did fantastically in the aforementioned film.

And, to be honest, the addition of Jet Li as the films fly Kung-Fu super cop, and Mark Dacascos as a snarling, kick butt villain, provides further reason why Seagal himself wasn’t asked to headline this little movie.

He just wasn’t needed – and admit it, a herd of great martial arts masters is better than one ageing, slowing veteran any day.

But obviously the actors of the piece aren’t the real stars in a movie like this. It’s the whole concoction of action and thrills that producer Silver has set up. And right from the film’s flashy opening titles played to the tune of a rap number to the martial-arts showdown of the film’s final five minutes, his stamp is all over it.

The only way to review a film like Cradle 2 the Grave is from an action fans stance – you know walking in it’s not going to win accolades for it’s narrative or acting – and this one succeeds on nearly every level: Adrenaline-pumping tension, awesome fights and a who’s who of the self-defense bible.

Leave your brain at the door and you’ll easily dig this Grave.

3 out of 5

Cradle 2 the Grave
Australian release: Thursday March 27
Cast: DMX, Jet Li, Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union, Drag-On, Paige Hurd, Mark Dacascos, Tom Arnold, Chi McBride.
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak.
Website: Click here

Brought to you by MovieHole