Cradle 2 The Grave

CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE

Rating: B

If you're looking to know why this movie is called Cradle 2 the Grave, you came to the wrong place. Probably some studio exec thought it sounded cool, or perhaps it tested better than "Jet Li Kicks a Lot of Ass," which is significantly more descriptive. Li plays a Taiwanese intelligence agent on the trail of 50 stolen black diamonds. The original thieves are led by DMX (still harboring resentment for being named after a light dimmer), who hangs on to the diamonds only long enough to get his daughter kidnapped because of them. Then the gems are stolen again, by a gang of African-American thugs whose leader conducts business out of cozy surroundings inside a prison cell. This doesn't sit too well with a gang of Asian thugs, who desperately want the stones for their own nefarious purposes. Mayhem ensues.

Pure mathematics should tell you what to expect. Four warring factions leads to a boatload of possible battle scenarios, and I think we get to see every one of them. First, Li fights with DMX and another member of his gang. Then Li and DMX fight with the African-Americans. Then the Asians fight with the African-Americans. Then Li and DMX fight with the Asians. Just in case that's not enough chopsocky for one evening, there's also a scene inside a nightclub where Li dispatches a group of anonymous tough guys in a steel cage match. If you're looking for martial arts action, you won't be disappointed.

One thing I noticed is that everyone in this movie fights dirty, even the good guys (and gals). The Queensberry rules go out the window early, and more low blows are exchanged than in a Mike Tyson-Andrew Golota fight. After a while, this gets tiresome - a very short while, actually. Something about strikes below the belt always denotes "cheesy B-flick." On the other hand, if we ignore the cheap shots, the rest of the fight choreography is very well orchestrated, reaching its zenith with the wire work in the steel cage battle.

When Jet Li first came on the American movie scene from Hong Kong actioners, my reaction was "Why do we need another action star?" But after seeing several of his films, I've come to find the sincere, modest characters he plays a refreshing change from the overly violent heroes in other similar movies. Li's characters only resort to violence as a last resort, and they're devoid of the populistic braggadocio and swagger of other contemporary heroes (although I'll grant that Daredevil made a half-hearted attempt at addressing this issue). A perfect example comes (once again) during the steel cage scene. Li originally dismisses the challenge to enter the match with a "Not today." When forced into it anyway, he darts around his opponent's attacks without throwing any counterpunches, then says "Okay, you win." Can you imagine Arnold or Stallone doing this? Because I can't. Where I'm heading with all this is that I found an early scene in the movie disappointing. Li desires information from a badguy, and although we don't witness the actual events, the man is later found beaten to within an inch of his life. Regardless of whether the victim is a baddie, the notion of the hero pummeling information out of someone skates too close to the prospect of endorsing torture. Plus, it doesn't fit with Li's character.

Several times during the film, director Andrzej Bartkowiak crosscuts between two action scenes happening at once, and the construction generally works. However, at the climax, he has three hand-to-hand combats going on simultaneously, and just as you get interested in one he cuts to another. The result is a climax which is frustrating to watch, and falls well shy of its potential. Let's hope Bartkowiak regards the result as an experiment that failed, and learns from his mistakes. And let's hope other directors were paying attention.