Cradle 2 the Grave

Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, Cradle 2 the Grave follows a crew of jewel thieves, led by DMX’s Anthony Fait, as they find themselves caught in the middle of a battle between Jet Li’s Agent Su and Mark Dacascos’ Yao Ling. Filmmaker Bartkowiak, armed with John O’Brien and Channing Gibson’s screenplay, delivers a run-of-the-mill actioner that fares especially poorly within its uninvolving, underwhelming first half, as the movie’s arms-length atmosphere is, at the outset, compounded by an absence of compelling interludes and characters that are, for the most part, hopelessly one-dimensional and unsympathetic – with DMX’s far-from-stellar efforts here, and his inability to form any kind of chemistry with his various costars, perpetuating the lackluster vibe. It’s clear, then, that Cradle 2 the Grave improves marginally as it progresses into an increasingly watchable midsection and third act, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that the picture’s about-face is triggered by an unexpectedly top-notch pursuit sequence wherein Anthony escapes from the police and several others aboard a rugged ATV – with the predictably larger-than-life bent of the movie’s final stretch, which includes an engaging, rainy fight between Li and Dacascos’ respective characters, ensuring that the whole thing concludes on an impressively positive note. The final result is a decent-enough endeavor that probably would’ve fared better had almost any performer other than DMX been cast, as the actor remains woefully unable to transform his one-note figure into a wholeheartedly sympathetic protagonist.

**1/2 out of ****