Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) is the most underrated Jet Li's American action work he ever done before. I don't get the hate for this film and I don't get the praise for Jet Li's film The One (2001) that get's thumbs up, but this one get's thumbs down! I will never understand the hate for this film! I love it to death, It is a fun action film, it is Jet Li's second film timing up with polish Director Andrzej Bartkowiak and actors DMX and Anthony Anderson who previously worked with Jet Li on Romeo Must Die. Drag-On and Tom Arnold teams up from the film Exit Wounds (2001) they both worked together with Andrzej Bartkowiak. It is really a shame that Aaliyah died two years earlier otherwise she would be cast in this movie. I guess director Andrzej Bartkowiak did not wan't Steven Seagal for this movie anymore, because apparently they all did not get a long. DMX really had hard time working together with Steven Seagal on Exit Wounds. I love this film to death, it is my second favorite Jet Li action film it is my number 2 action film! I know more Jet Li's American work: Romeo Must Die, The One, War, The Expendables 1,2 and 3, Kiss of the Dragon and Cradle 2 the Grave and I absolutely love this film! I kept watching it as a teen and I still do!"I am Su." "I'm *not* Bruce." Plot: When his daughter is kidnapped and held in exchange for priceless diamonds, the leader of a crew of highly skilled urban thieves (DMX) forges an unlikely alliance with a Taiwanese Intelligence officer (Jet Li) to rescue her. Their race against the clock to find the precious stones ultimately unravels a plot to distribute a deadly new weapon of war.The basic plot about this film it is about a power, a black diamonds are stolen from a Jewel thief (DMX) and his team but a sadistic crime lord (Mark Dacascos) want's them back, so his men kidnaps Jewel thief's daughter for exchange of the diamonds. To get the diamonds back, jewel thief races against time, with his team to recover the stolen diamonds, with a help from Su (Jet Li) a Hong Kong cop. This film is more about a revenge and arms dealing and theft of a black diamonds it is a mystery of what is about. Crimelord (Mark Dacascos) was a Hong Kong cop and Jet Li's partner, but he betrayed Jet Li and he tried to kill him, Mark Dacascos come to America with a stolen black diamonds which he stole them, but he lost them. The diamonds are for a powerful laser weapon and Mark Dacascos is selling the weapon for a highest binder on an auction. The black diamonds belongs to the Hong Kong people not to the foreigners and Jet Li's role in this movie is to find to black diamonds and to stop his former partner. Jet Li also helps the jewel thief finding his daughter and he is teaming up with a jewel thief. I love this film to death! Their is plenty of action, martial arts from Jet Li and Mark Dacascos. Gabrielle Union from Bad Boys II is also in here and she did well in her lead role. I seriously love her character she did everything to help his friend finding his daughter. Anthony Anderson and Tom Arnold add comedy to all the excitement. Kelly Hu and Gabrielle Union flex beauty and strength as foes destined for a beat down. Also producer Joel Silver returns with director Andrzej Bartkowiak, who fused martial arts with hip-hop style in Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds, take it to the next level with Cradle 2 the Grave.I love the songs of this film by Eminem - Go To Sleep I love this song I have been always been a fan of Eminem. My Life (Cradle 2 the Grave) from Foxy Brown ft. Althea Heart is another song that I love and X Gon' Give it to Ya from DMX which I love his songs and DMX is talented rapper. Because this film with Romeo Must Die had a lot of hip hop songs in it and I love it they are all beautiful songs. Everyone in this film did an amazing job! Overall: This is a fun action film, it is excited it has plenty of action, guns, explosion, tank in this movie and a lot's of martial arts from Jet Li. In my honest opinion Cradle 2 the Grave and Romeo Must Die are MILES way better films than Exit Wounds, The One and War I hate those three films. The rating is 10/10 because this film is very underrated and people does not appreciate this days a good action movie anymore! Cradle 2 the Grave is a 2003 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, and starring Jet Li and DMX. The film was released in the United States on February 28, 2003.10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Starring: Jet Li, DMX, Anthony Anderson, Kelly Hu, Tom Arnold, Mark Dacascos, Gabrielle Union, Tom Arnold, Randy Couture Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak Producer: Joel Silver Screenplay: John O'Brien Channing Gibson Story by John O'Brien Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 41 Mins. Budget: $30,000,000 Box Office: $56,489,558

Cradle 2 the Grave (2003): Dir: Andrzej Bartkowiak / Cast: Jet Li, DMX, Gabrielle Union, Kelly Hu, Tom Arnold: Cradle represents the kidnapped daughter. 2 represents the idea that DMX and Jet Li are in hot water. Grave has obvious meaning. This geek show involves black diamonds that are stolen and stolen again until thief DMX is forced to recover them at the risk of his eight year old daughter. Film exists for stunts and action that justifies Jet Li killing the villain in the conclusion. Boring setup with a parade of action scenes including laughable footage of Jet Li beating up a dozen wrestlers in a cage. Directing by Andrzej Bartkowiak is fast paced with Li in great shape but still doing nothing in terms of acting here. His performance is all about the physicality of the stunts. DMX shouldn't quit his day job and just stick to selling rap records. Gabrielle Union has a thankless role as a seductive thief, which is pretty one note at best. Kelly Hu appears in a martial arts role that may remind viewers that had she used that skill in Jason Takes Manhattan she might have had a better survival rate. Tom Arnold attempts to brighten up the train wreck with humour but only succeeds in sinking this despair even further. While the film is well made on a technical level it still serves little purpose other than to entertain mindless violence. This film should be buried in an early grave. Score: 2 / 10

Hollywood movie producer Joel Silver knows a thing or two about making white-knuckled, adrenalin-laced, edge-of-the-seat action thrillers. Call it the Silver formula. Typically, two hardbodied heroes mismatched from the get-go fight a heinous, larger-than-life hoodlum with an army of heavyweight henchmen in a high stakes battle of life and death. The Silver formula features sexy, hot-bloodied sirens; abducted adolescent girls, and bleeding-edge, high-tech hardware. Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte started the ebony & ivory pairing of protagonists in the earliest Silver-produced epic "48 HRS" (1982). Later, Silver teamed up Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the "Lethal Weapon" series as well as Lawrence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves for "The Matrix" trilogy. Abducted adolescent girls figure prominently in Silver hits like "Commando" (1985), "The Last Boy Scout" (1991), and "Swordfish" (2001). Like Jerry Bruckheimer of "Armageddon" fame and the James Bond producers, Silver has concocted his own sure-fire formula for implausible but entertaining actioneers and turned it into a lowbrow art form. The latest saga with the Silver lining "Cradle 2 The Grave" (*** out of ****) exemplifies the formula in virtually every respect. Hong Kong martial arts star Jet Li teams up with rapper-actor DMX in a hip-hop, heist shoot'em-up about stolen black diamonds, a kidnapped 9-year old, and a new sample of wild, way-out weaponry. Although it easily tops "Romeo Must Die," the slickly-produced and efficiently directed "Cradle 2 The Grave" doesn't boast the action quota of previous American-made Jet Li flicks such as "Kiss of the Dragon" and "The One." Nevertheless, "C2TG" consistently delivers action, action, action with enough twists and turns to make things interesting. Furthermore, a frantic chase with DMX on a 4-wheeler rivals the Matt Damon chase in an Austin-Mini in "The Bourne Identity." Meanwhile, Jet Li displays a different style of fighting and brings a harder edge to his good guy character."C2TG" opens with a suspenseful high-tech jewel robbery. Tony Fait (Earl Simmons, a.k.a Dark Man X of "Belly") and his ice-cool heist crew: Tommy (Anthony Anderson of "Barbershop"), Miles (Drag-On of "Exit Wounds"), and ex-stripper martial artist Daria (Gabrielle Union of "Deliver Us From Eva") steal 50 black diamonds. Not only are these exotic diamonds (resembling a cross-between of lug nuts and aspirin) extremely rare, but also their size belies their extraordinary value. During the heist, Fait gets a call on his cell. Taiwanese Intelligence Officer Su (Jet Li of "Rome Must Die") informs Fait that he has alerted the authorities and they are scrambling to bust him. Fait and company effect a tense, hair- raising escape that involves riding atop a subway train. After his buyer turns up murdered, Fait consults his friendly neighborhood fence Archie (Tom Arnold of "True Lies") about his haul. Archie owns a military surplus store with an arsenal of combat equipment, including a tank. A former Taiwanese secret agent-turned-crime boss Ling (Mark Dacascos of "Brotherhood of the Wolf") wants the diamonds, so he kidnaps Fait's precocious 9-year old daughter Vanessa (newcomer Paige Hurd) and holds her for ransom. Su reveals that the diamonds belong to Taiwan. Reluctantly, Fait teams up with Su rescue Vanessa and recover the gems.Nothing particularly surprising occurs in "C2TG," but Polish-born director Andrzej Bartkowiak of "Exit Wounds" pulls out all stops to make the action look spectacular. DMX jacks a 4- wheeler and takes the police on a careening chase that turns into a demolition derby. This exciting pursuit scene is alone worth of price of admission. After DMX loses the cops, he rides the 4-wheeler across rooftops, leaping from one rooftop to the next! Bartkowiak and his writers emphasize plot over character. Nothing extraneous cramps the action in "C2TG." Jet Li and DMX compliment each other in their dialogue scenes as well as their action scenes. Nevertheless, Li outshines DMX. Early in "C2TG," agent Su breaks into an apartment by dropping bodily from one balcony to the next, grabbing each with his hands. Jet Li also demonstrates a new style of kung fu. He kicks butt with brazen nonchalance while keeping one hand stuck in his pocket. Although the Jet Li protagonist is a good guy, he looks dangerous and behaves like the bad guy he played in "Lethal Weapon IV." Bartkowiak relies on the antics of comedian Anthony Anderson and Tom Arnold to offset some of the more unsavory scenes in this R-rated melodrama. Predictable as it is, "Cradle 2 The Grave" nevertheless delivers everything a good solid crime thriller should. Die-hard Jet Li fans may quibble about the ensemble material, but "C2TG" gives Li a chance to change his fighting style and heroic character.

As always, Jet Li is a great fighter. DMX can't act. This makes 2 things he sucks at. If they had no rappers, the movie would get a 7. This movie is more or less mediocre.Fore Ultimate Fighter fans, there are cameo appearances for ur people :). Jet Li is not good paired up with rappers or "gangstas". DMX sucks. Jet Li is mediocre actor but good actor. The plot is pretty much dull. The movie relies on Jet Li carrying it with his martial arts and DMX and his "gangsta G" rap.It wasn't too bad. Kinda short though. Would suggest Danny the Dog/Unleashed rather than this movie though. That one has some decent acting.