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Cradle 2 the Grave (Full Screen Edition)

Cradle 2 the Grave (Full Screen Edition)

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fairly good action-comedy.
Review: I used to never think of DMX as a very good actor, but after this movie, I've completely changed my opinion on the man. But unfortuanitely, I can't say the same for Jet Li. Now I don't expect Jet Li to know perfect English and be the next Robert Deniro, but he shows absolutely no emotion at all throughout this entire movie. But I guess I shouldn't have expected much anyway, since good acting skills are rarely needed in action movies.

Anyway, Cradle 2 The Grave just may be one of the best action movies this year. It has a pretty standard action movie plot, but I wouldn't really say that's a bad thing though. Jet Li is just amazing to watch in the action scenes and does many things that none of us would even dream of doing. Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson are actually pretty funny in this movie and the writers did a pretty good job here of mixing action with comedy for this film.

Overall, Cradle 2 The Grave is worth your money to rent it (or buy if you really like it) and most will probably get at least a little enjoyment out of it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: C2G: Several Movies In One: And All Of Them Poorly Done
Review: It is hard to imagine how Hollywood could take a big budget film and liberally sprinkle it with over the top special effects and big name stars (Oops, perhaps not--think of dozens of other Hollywood stinkeroos) and still produce a money and time waster. Director Andrej Bartowiak in CRADLE 2 GRAVE utterly wastes the talents of Jet Li and DMX in a film that starts out as a vault heist but quickly morphs into far too many sub plots, none of which is believable. The problem with making the heist the primary focus of interest would have been that Jet Li would have had precious little to do. First Li battles DMX, then some hoods, then an octagon full of Ultimate Fighting Championship Martial artists, and then finally squaring off against bad guy Mark Dacascos in a climactic confrontation that has surprisingly little sizzle and pop. As I watching DMS and Li team up to regain some stolen jewels that were not jewels at all, I could see that the overlapping plotlines and poor scripting allowed that 'willing suspension of belief' to evaporate so that what was on the screen were actors clearly acting, not vicariously permitting the viewer to put himself into a believable world of cause and effect. One sure fire way to tell whether an action movie has anything going for it is to count how long it takes the director to move from one fx scene to another. In C2G, this happens once every three minutes. Finally, I had a problem with the film's moral sleaziness. Director Bartowiak would have us accept some heisters as being basically good types with strong bonds of love, friendship, and family ties. If DMX were really such an upstanding young man, then why show him involved in crime? C2G boils down to a film that tries hard to say something significant about bonding, martial arts, and morality, but fails to say anything interesting about any of them. The fight scenes, stunts, and other assorted fx simply punctuate a film that would have benefited from a tighter script and a more talented director.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Solid action flick
Review: This is one of those movies. You know the type. The one where you have to accept a ridiculous premesis, the good-natured bad guy, the ultimate bad guy who used to be the best friend or mentor of the good guy. This is that movie to a T. No wrinkles thrown into the formula. X plays a thief, the good thief, who doesn't use guns, cause he's really a good guy and a great dad at heart! But that's the type of stuff you have to expect from a movie like this one.

However, the movie redeems itself with plenty of action and solid acting from everyone involved, really. Tom Arnold provides some comic relief and is in his fines form since True Lies. Jet Li is always awesome, and his talents aren't as wasted here as they were in his previous American releases. DMX is great.

If you just wanna watch some good action, just need to sit down and be entertained, watch this one. If you can't accept a few plot holes, stay away from this one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Lee Vs. Norris Jakie Vs. Urquidez Agreed 100%
Review: I agree 100% with the reviewer. Cradle to the Grave should have been 'Off The Hook' Jet Lee Vs. Mark Dacascos should have had a fight unpalleled for years to come!!! Other than that fiasco; the movie was entertaining enough to see it! Again I'd like to know what were they thinking they had a Real mind Blower.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Lee vs. Norris. Chan vs. Urquidez. This had potential....
Review: Mark Descascos vs. Jet Li should have been one of the greatest end fight scenes ever filmed. There are a lot of good martial artists that could not keep up with the hong kong fast pace of a jet li fight scene. Decascos has proven, especially in the kung fu fest "Drive", that he could more than match Li's quickness, agility, and presiceness needed for a good fight sequence.
No words can express the dissapointmant of martial arts fans at how bad the producers and director dropped the ball with this film. It's almost criminal. But then again, the same director rushed through a fight finale with Li and Russel Wong for the "climactic" fight at the end of Romeo Must Die, so maybe it was my own fault for expecting something great, but hey, I can dream can't I?
Shame on all involved. Maybe if someone would finally release Crying Freeman in the U.S., Mark Deacascos would get the credit he deserves.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Whole New Level of Action Movie
Review: Cradle 2 the Grave is a great action movie starring Jet Li,DMX,Gabrielle Union,Anthony Anderson,and Tom Arnold. I must begin by saying there's a spell-binding chase scene where DMX eludes police all over town on a 4-wheeler. There's also a dynamic fight scene where Jet Li has to participate in an illegal bare-nuckle boxing tournament against all the contenders at the same time and defeats them. Now this movie is not for children,there's two scenes that's for adults only. The first scene is where Gabrielle Union table dances to cause a diversion for DMX in a club. Its very steamy. The second scene starring Anthony Anderson involves him protraying a homosexual to cause another diversion for DMX. Its hilarious. The final scene I would like to mention is at the end of the movie where Anthony Anderson and Tom Arnold battle it out in a comical montage. All in all Cradle 2 the Grave was a whole new level of action movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: At least it wasn't XXX
Review: I am VERY glad I didn't spend my own money to watch this. The fight scenes could've been very cool, and sometimes they are (notably the scene with the UFC guys in the cage), but normally they are edited so poorly and in that "MTV" style, that any build up of tension or momentum and rhythm of the fight is lost in the constant cuts. The worst of this is the finale, where 3 fight scene get about 20 seconds of time per cut, and one fight scene, between the two women, not only has no dramatic reason for being there, but is completely unbelievable. Give us DMX's last fight, then Jet's, and don't assume that we have the attention span of 6 years olds hopped up on a whole box of Frosted Flakes. Maybe if we had the chance to really get into these individual fights, they would've been as cool as they seem to want to be.

As for the plot...well, I really think they knew they had a paper thin plot, thus why any major plot points don't happen until the last half hour of the movie, long after most viewers have lost interest in what those diamonds are, exactly who the bad guys are, so on and so forth. In action movies, it's all about pacing, both in plot and in the action scenes. This movie has none. Another waste of Jet Li.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: blah
Review: I have to admit, I do not understand the appeal of the kung fu/ rapper movie . for some reason i keep thinking of a great ween lyric "like a japanese cowboy...somethin' ain't right" i cant get past the fact that DMX is suddenly a martial arts expert who doesn't have a gun. DMX is almost as unbelievably bad a famous-dude-turned-actor as ray allen in he got game, (which is a good movie, with awful acting but ... come on, spike lee is the sh...) but cradle 2 the grave is painful. if u want action and kung fu, and you already know who bruce lee is, i suggest checking out ANY of jet li's other movies. and if you want good old american violence with lots of guns ... stay away from these crossover catastrophes and stick with the classics

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Cradle 2 the Grave" 2 Buy
Review: Jet Li doesn't know how to cuss! He just whispered an expletive under his breath, but DMX knows how to deliver angry obscenity! I answer the phone just like him. I even ride four-wheel terrain vehicles all over the city and nobody's got nothing on me. What cuh! "Cradle 2 the Grave" is about me and my quest in life. Precious diamonds and fighting people in cage matches are a routine in everyday living. Su (Li) took out about 15 guys in an Ultimate Fighting square. That's impressive considering my count is 342432. Beat that record!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Jet Li, need I say more!
Review: The only reason I even bothered to rent this is because I am a big Jet Li fan. As far as Kung Fu star here in America Jet Li only falls second to Bruce Lee.
This movie is pretty simple, professional organized thieves break into a bank vault to steal these very valuable black diamonds. They find what they want only to get themselves into more trouble than they want. Jet Li plays a Taiwan CIA equivalent who is also looking for these black diamonds which turn out to not be diamonds at all. DMX plays the thief with a soft spot for his daughter who gets involved in this mess when the really bad guys kidnap her to get the black diamonds that were taken from them! The rest of the movie is DMX and Jet Li teamed up (DMX wants his daughter, Jet Li wants the black diamonds) chasing after the bad guys and kicking some ass like only Jet Li can. This is a cool action movie, the fight scenes with Jet are really good, the acting is so-so, the story is ok, but did I mention the fight scene with Jet is really good. Good enough reason for me to rent it!


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