Cradle 2 the Grave
A thief and a lawman join forces to hunt down a common enemy in this action thriller. Tony Fait (DMX) is a master thief who, along with his crew (Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson, and Drag-On), pulls off a major score when they steal a cache of highly valuable black diamonds. However, the hard-as-nails Tony has a soft spot for his young daughter Vanessa (Paige Hurd), and Ling (Mark Dacascos), a former detective turned ruthless criminal, kidnaps Vanessa, demanding a ransom from Tony for her return -- the stash of black diamonds. The jewels have already been stolen, however, from Tony's fence Archie (Tom Arnold), and are now in the hands of a powerful underworld boss (Chi McBride). Determined to get back his daughter whatever the cost, Tony and his gang set out to find both Ling and the diamonds, but he soon gets some invaluable help from an unlikely corner -- Su (Jet Li), a government agent from Taiwan who was once Ling's partner, and has an old score to settle with him. Cradle 2 the Grave also features Kelly Hu and Roxana Brusso. more..
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Starring: Jet Li, DMX, Anthony Anderson, Kelly Hu, Tom Arnold
This is a ride, a video game, a soundtrack -- unapologetic and clearly labeled as such. It has no middle speed.
By the time Li enters the obligatory ''ring of fire'' to face his final opponent, you realize just how forthrightly rote and businesslike ''Cradle'' is. And you don't mind. Because business, it turns out, is good.
The film itself is on autopilot and overdrive at the same time: It does nothing original, but does it very rapidly.
Between the off-center comic riffs of Tom Arnold and the wildly improbable hair's-breadth escapes, the whole business dissolves into amiable action farce.
Each actor does his own thing for his own audience demographic.
Female
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2004)
Best Actress
BET Awards (2003)
Best Fight
MTV Movie Awards (2003)
Best High Work
World Stunt Awards (2004)
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