Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)

A jewel thief's daughter is kidnapped after he steals a collection of prized black diamonds, which aren't at all what they seem.

Director:

Andrzej Bartkowiak

Writers:

John O'Brien (story), John O'Brien (screenplay)

Stars:

Jet Li, DMX, Mark Dacascos

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jet Li	...	Su
DMX	...	Anthony Fait
Anthony Anderson	...	Tommy
Kelly Hu	...	Sona
Tom Arnold	...	Archie
Mark Dacascos	...	Ling
Gabrielle Union	...	Daria
Michael Jace	...	Odion
Drag-On	...	Miles
Paige Hurd	...	Vanessa
Paolo Seganti	...	Christophe
Richard Trapp	...	Douglas
Ron Yuan	...	Laser Tech
Woon Young Park	...	Bald Enforcer
Johnny Nguyen	...	Ling's Hitman

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

tied up | black woman | african american woman | father daughter relationship | child kidnapping | 

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Taglines:

Born 2 the life. True 2 the code. Bad 2 the bone.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin Korean

Release Date:

28 February 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Born 2 Die

Filming Locations:

101 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,521,486, 2 March 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$34,604,054, 11 May 2003

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$56,489,558

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point, Arnold Schwarzenegger was slated to star.

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Goofs

During the planning scene when Fait is giving out assignments he calls Daria "Gabrielle." She is played by Gabrielle Union.

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Quotes

Fait: You read Chinese?
Archie: No, but I know "cop" in every language.

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Crazy Credits

Archie and Tommy riff on various subjects, including who will star in the movie version of their lives, under the end credits.

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Connections

References Sixteen Candles (1984)

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Soundtracks

I'm Serious
Written by Pusha T (as T. Thornton), Malice (as G. Thornton), L. Porter,
T. Hassan and K. Hassan
Produced by L. Porter, K. Hassan and T.O. Hassan
Performed by Clipse
Clipse appears Courtesy of Star Trak Entertainment / Arista Records

User Reviews

A reasonably workable action picture is undermined by the inclusion of a stupid little girl and a dedicated daddy motive by DMX.

What could have been a reasonably acceptable action vehicle for Jet Li became completely annoying thanks to the obligatory (and ridiculously lame) inclusion of what I'd call Hollywood's fascination with "family values" and "kiddie cuteness". An R-rated action picture is no place for cutesy, resourceful brats and there's nothing more bland than an action hero straddled with a family or family members in peril. It all reeks with middle-class political correctness and made the DMX character an unnecessary annoyance. Real villains would have made short work of the kid's ears and gotten a little cooperation from that rapper a lot sooner. This one's pathetically wimpy, even with Jet versus the ultimate fighting boys; not having any gratuitous nudity is unforgivable also, especially when you set the audience up for some!