Jet Li is to kung fu action as Jackie Chan is to Kung fu comedy:
you get exactly what you expect. Which, if you dig kung fu action,
isn't much more than some serious butt kickin'. Li, having made (and
continuing to make) many action films in China, then came to the US
and first displayed his martial arts skills in Lethal Weapon 4. That
one was a hit, so next came Romeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon and The
One, all of which took the same basic formula and simply placed it in
a different location. Much like Chan's epics, the story is secondary,
only existing to string the audience along from one spectacular fight
scene to the next. Cradle 2 the Grave doesn't expand on this formula
much at all: take a popular rap artist who can throw a few good
punches, add a sexy young actress, a couple of comedians, the familiar
baddies and Li , and voila! you've got Cradle 2 the Grave.
Jet
Li stars as a boy named "Su," a Taiwanese police officer
looking to take down a Chinese baddie. DMX stars as the thief with a
heart of gold that gets involved because there are diamonds to be had.
Along for a bit of romance is Bring It On and Bad Boys II's Gabrielle
Union is one of DMX's partners in crime, plus some comic relief
courtesy of funnymen Anthony Anderson and Tom Arnold and the ever-
faithful sidekicks, Brotherhood of the Wolf's Mark Dacascos and X2
hottie Kelly Hu. Polish action director Andrzej Bartkowiak has
worked with Li and DMX before on Exit Wounds and Romeo Must Die as
well as megabucks producer Joel Silvet. Between Bartkowiak, Silver and
the talented stunt folks you can rest assured this one will keep your
attention. Yet Cradle 2 the Grave didn't perform extraordinarily well
at the box office, pulling in only about $9 million more than its $25
million budget. It did, however, top the box office the weekend it was
released, and will probably do better on video. It's just another
forgettable action flick, but will probably do as a Saturday night
rental.
Video: How Does The Disc Look? 
Cradle 2
the Grave is presented here in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a
very good transfer for a new release. Subtle detail is fairly well
delineated giving small objects and textures a life-like quality.
Shadow detail is also good with many a dark scene. Colors are vivid
and well saturated with fleshtones quite natural. Blacks are also very
good remaining true with the many black costumes. This transfer is
also relatively edge halo free, with only a few scenes where it is
mildly distracting. I also didn't notice any compression artifacts or
defects. This is a very nice looking disc.
Audio: How Does
The Disc Sound?
Following suit with the transfer, the audio
presentation is first rate. There are two 5.1 Dolby Digital mixes
available: an English and a Quebecian French dub. The English track is
appropriately loud and recorded at 448 kbps. The LFE track is usually
engaged, as you might expect from a film with a soundtrack comprised
of mostly rap music. The bass extension is tight and rarely boomy both
in score reproduction and the many opportunities it gets in action
sequences. Surrounds also get their fair chance to contribute with
excellent directional pans all around. The rear speakers are also
constantly active whether in effects or score extension utilization.
Even with all of the channels playing an almost equal role, the
soundstage remains well balanced. Dialogue is clear and well anchored
in the center channel. This is a very groovy action mix.
There
are also English, French and Spanish subtitles included along with
English Closed Captions. 
Supplements: What Goodies Are
There?
Even though Warner Home Video has only included about
twenty minutes of extras (not including the music video) they are all
worth catching.
First up is the 8-minute featurette
Ultimate Fighting Champions which is basically an in-depth
behind the scenes look at the cage fight in the film. Here Joel Silver
brought in three actual Ultimate Fighting Championship champions to
partake in the battle. Next is the 4-minute Choreography of the
Camera. Here the cinematographers speak on the use of multiple
cameras and the angles they provide as well as other technical info.
This one is also very interesting. The Descender Rig runs 3
minutes and is another behind the scenes look at the apartment
building stunt from the beginning of the movie and, having created a
special device for use on this stunt, how they did it. 
There
are also two other short and "hidden" featurettes.
They are quite easy to find. The first is a just under 2-minute look
at the cage fight in a time lapse sequence. Here you are treated to
text tidbits about what's going on in the setup of this scene. The
second is 3 minutes of movie magic on Rear Projection and how it was
used with the subway scene.
Rounding it out is a text section
for the cast and crew with all of the actors, the writers,
producer and director. The theatrical trailer is also included
in anamorphic and 2.0 surround. Lastly is DMX's "X Gon' Give it
to Ya" music video.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do
you get when you pop the disc in your PC?
No ROM extras
have been included.
Parting Thoughts
With many
an action film not being able to deliver on their promises of a good
time, at least Cradle 2 the Grave sure packs a punch. This one is for
all action fans and especially those of Jet Li. The disc looks great
and sounds even better, so with the brief but attention-grabbing
extras this DVD is an easy recommend.
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