CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE [2002] Jet Li, DMX ; Rated 15

From the makers of 'Exit Wounds' comes 'Cradle 2 The Grave' which has pretty much the same cast, the same crew and the same style of action as it's predecessor. Of course for the most part all of that is a good thing, and with the addition of Jet Li how can it fail? Well I'll tell you how. For those of you who aren't familiar with the movie 'Exit Wounds' which starred Steve Seagal, it really did raise the bar for action movies. It had a very well rounded cast and was very hard not to like. However with 'Cradle 2 The Grave' the proven formula stalls at the starting blocks, specifically because DMX (rap artist trying his hand at acting) is given the leading role. He has more screen time than anyone else in the movie and given the fact that he can't act to save his life, he himself condemns the film to being only a mediocre effort. Jet Li is of course ever watchable, but his role in the film seems more of a novelty than anything else. The action and the fight scenes are good though, but that aspect alone can't carry the film successfully. It is of course nice to see the now familiar cast, including Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson back again, but with the just plain terrible DMX in the leading role, the film just can't cut the mustard. I never thought I would say this but... bring back Seagal.

2/5