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 | bound and gagged | private dancer | panties | one man army | 

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Taglines:

Mortal enemies make dangerous friends.

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jet Li's character only fights with one hand for a majority of the film.

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Goofs

When Fait jumps through the window of the building he rode into with the blue ATV, he has to clear a low wall to go through the window. You can see him ride up a ramp to get through the window, but there is no ramp there. It was edited out but it is still obvious that he goes off a ramp.

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Quotes

Fight Announcer: Put me down now, or I'll kick your ass, Bruce!
Su: I'm *not* Bruce.
[throws the short man through the air]

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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

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Doom (2010)

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Soundtracks

Right / Wrong
Written by DMX (as Earl Simmons), DJ Envy (as Raashaun Casey) and Renan Thybulle
Produced by DJ Envy and Mono
Performed by DMX
DMX appears Courtesy of Ruff Ryders / Def Jam Records

User Reviews

This is a must see!

How much enthusiasm, impressions and emotions left this film after watching! All this is the work of the director, famous for the film "Through wounds."

In the story of a professional robber Tony Faith during his next mission, black diamonds are accidentally caught. This message reaches the international criminal Lin, who decides to get these unusual decorations for personal gain. So he kidnaps Faith's daughter. Faith finds his secret partner Su, sworn enemy Lin, as his companions, and together they must stop the insidious villain. Each of them has its own reason for this.

First of all, the film is notable for an unprecedented cast. The lead role was gained by the popular rapper DMX. Actually, he is better known as a musician, not an actor. He has a few films on his account, but here he even managed to open up well to the audience as an elusive robber and loving father. And what to say about Jet Li, he continues to delight his fans with his brilliant stunts and acting skills. Here he played a calm, extremely agile agent, and his main opponent ... This is Mark Dacascos! Yes, unexpectedly for me, he appeared in the negative role of a violent criminal. This role for him turned out to be much more successful than that in the "American Samurai"! It was here that he distinguished himself with charisma, the ability to act clearly according to all the rules of the "villainous" role. This can not be forgotten. Sometimes it even seems to me that this is his best role in the last 10 years. And his partner got the former model Kelly Hu, who also brilliantly played the accomplice of the criminal. And of course, the film does not do without humor. To this end, Tom Arnold, the famous comedian, was invited to the shooting.

But most importantly, the film itself looks at one go. Here we will see everything that is characteristic of 21st century militants: high-quality and spectacular battles, beautiful chases, powerful gunfights and special effects. We immediately see that the budget of 25 million is spent wisely. Particularly memorable are some episodes of the film: a perfectly thought-out bank robbery, leaving the police on an ATV, a secret agent against a dozen boxers in the ring, and finally the final outcome - the division of the storyline into 3 unforgettable fights: the DMX hero rescues his daughter, Kelly Hu against Gabriel Union , a fight of Jet Li and Mark Dacascos. The soundtrack of the film is encouraging music performed by DMX.

The theme of the film is already far from fresh, but the way everything is worked out cannot but remain in the spotlight. The film will always cheer up, no matter how much you look at it. Apparently, the director tried his best!

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin Korean

Release Date:

28 February 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cradle 2 the Grave

Filming Locations:

101 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,521,468, 2 March 2003

Gross USA:

$34,712,347

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