"CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE"
(2003) (Jet Li, DMX) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Heavy	Extreme	Moderate	Extreme
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Heavy	None	Moderate	Heavy	Extreme
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Minor	Mild	Moderate	Extreme

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QUICK TAKE:

Action/Adventure: When criminal types kidnap his daughter, a jewel thief joins forces with a Taiwanese government agent to rescue her and retrieve a set of black diamonds that are more valuable than they initially seem.

PLOT:

Tony Fait (DMX) and his crew -- Miles (DRAG-ON), Daria (GABRIELLE UNION) and Tommy (ANTHONY ANDERSON) - have gone to elaborate lengths to rob a vault of various jewels, including some rare black diamonds.

The actions and efforts of Taiwanese Intelligence Officer Su (JET LI), however, disrupt their plan. They do manage to get away with the black diamonds, but since their buyer, Christophe (PAOLO SEGANTI), is now dead, Tony goes to his fence, Archie (TOM ARNOLD), to see what the diamonds are worth. It's not long before the diamonds are stolen and thugs working for crime boss Ling (MARK DACASCOS) try to kill Tony and kidnap his 8-year-old daughter, Vanessa (PAIGE HURD).

Despite their disparate intentions, Tony and Su then team up to figure out what's going on and find out who's responsible. After a brief stop to visit an imprisoned crime boss, Chambers (CHI McBRIDE), Su, Tony and his team set out to rescue Vanessa and retrieve the diamonds that turn out to be far more valuable and dangerous than they initially seem.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're fans of anyone in the cast or action films that mix rap and martial arts stars, they just might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R

For violence, language and some sexual content.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

JET LI plays a Taiwanese intelligence officer who wants to find a set of stolen diamonds that are actually something else entirely. He fights with various characters and briefly uses strong profanity.

DMX plays a high tech jewel thief who must change gears when a crime boss kidnaps his daughter. He uses strong profanity.

ANTHONY ANDERSON plays his comedic sidekick who usually acts as a diversion for the others. He also uses strong profanity.

TOM ARNOLD plays Tony's fence who tries to assist him and Su and uses profanity.

MARK DACASCOS plays a former associate of Su's who went bad and now wants to sell a dangerous weapon to the highest bidder. He kills several people, and kidnaps and holds Vanessa hostage.

GABRIELLE UNION plays Tony's criminal associate who uses her sexual wiles in one scene as a distraction. She also uses some profanity.

DRAG-ON plays the team's last criminal member who shoots and injures or kills some thugs.

PAIGE HURD plays Tony's 8-year-old daughter who Ling's thugs kidnap.

CHI McBRIDE plays an imprisoned crime boss who uses strong profanity, smokes a cigar and is racist toward Su.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated action/adventure film. Profanity consists of at least 42 "f" words, while plenty of other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Sexually related dialogue is present in various scenes (including that of a straight man feigning that he's gay to distract a gay guard), while a woman does a striptease and sexual dance to distract a bar owner (with partial nudity).

Violence consists of various people being killed by various means (gunfire, swallowing some plutonium, stabbing, etc.) while a tremendous amount of fighting (most of it of the martial arts variety) is also present, as is some property damage. Some of that material has bloody or gory results and that and other moments might be tense or suspenseful to some viewers, but are just as likely or more to be imitated, as is some other behavior.

All but a few characters have bad attitudes, as they're involved in various aspects of criminal behavior including kidnapping a young girl (that results in some tense family moments), while various characters drink or smoke.

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

We see some bottles of liquor in Tony's place.

Various people have drinks in a club.

A club owner pours some champagne for Daria.

Various people have drinks in a club.

Tony quickly downs a drink handed to him.

BLOOD/GORE

A man has some blood from his nose and possibly mouth after fighting Su. Later, we see more blood on that man's face and hand as well as in his eye.

We briefly see some blood in a closed ring fighting contest (where people hold up plastic to keep the blood from splattering onto them).

During a fight, Su yanks a guy's earring from his ear, resulting in a lot of blood. In addition, he twists and apparently breaks a guy's wrist and then graphically breaks his arm (no blood, but it's bent the wrong way).

We briefly see a bit of blood when one guy suddenly stabs another with some sort of object.

We see a dead crime boss with some sort of utensil sticking out of the back of his head (no blood, but the sight might be unnerving to the queasy).

We see various dead people on the floor (one has blood on the side of his head).

We briefly see some blood squirt out when a man is shot.

A plutonium pill is jammed down inside a guy's throat. It then heats up and burns through his throat and eventually burns away all of his flesh, etc. to reveal a skeletal figure (seen from the inside and outside of his body).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Tony and his crew are a bunch of thieves who steal various jewels during an elaborate heist.

Tommy feigns being gay (in a stereotypical fashion) to try to distract a gay security guard.

Archie is a fence who peddles stolen goods.

A person uses the term "cracker" in a racist fashion.

Ling and his followers are criminals with big and potentially explosive plans. They also kidnap Tony's daughter.

Chambers is a powerful thug who's behind bars but rules the roost and is racist toward Su (calling him "gook," etc.).

Archie jokes that a certain type of people all look the same and then says "So do you guys" to Su (who's Asian).

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence" might also be tense or suspenseful to some viewers.

Tony and Miles run down a subway tunnel as a train rapidly approaches them from behind. They then try to open a door and get out of the way before the train hits them.

Tony and Daria trying to avoid police by climbing up and then hiding on the top of a stopped subway train. As it then moves, she nearly slips off and Tony has to hold onto her and the top of the train to prevent her from falling off.

Some Dobermans chase after Tony and Su who just manage to avoid them before trapping them inside a car.

Various thugs race toward a room where Tony and Miles are trying to find their diamonds.

GUNS/WEAPONS

Handguns/Shotguns/Machine guns/Sniper rifle/Tank: Used to threaten, wound or kill others or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Who the f*ck /are you/is this?" "That cracker m*therf*cker," "F*cked," "F*cking great," "Don't waste my f*cking time," "You're not f*cking with me, are you?" "Shut the f*ck up," "How the f*ck do you know?" "Freeze, m*therf*ckers," "No sh*t," "Piece of sh*t," "Sh*t box," "You've got to be sh*tting me," "Chickensh*t," "Holy sh*t," "It's about time I got my sh*t together," "Oh, hell no," "What the hell /happened/are you talking about?" "Black ass," "Bad ass," "Shut up," "Nigger," "Bitch," "Tell me what the hell you are doing" "Burns my ass," "Kick his ass," "Nuts" (testicles) and "Scumbag."

All of the fighting and martial arts moves might be enticing for some kids to imitate.

Daria wears a midriff-revealing top.

Su drops himself down from one ledge to another on the outside of a building (letting go and then grabbing the ledge below him, etc.).

Tony swerves through traffic while being followed.

A man gives another man "the finger."

Tony and Miles jump from one rooftop to another (including over some barbed wire). Later, Tony drives from one rooftop to the next on an ATV.

JUMP SCENES

None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

A moderate amount of suspenseful and action-oriented music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

While various songs had lyrics we couldn't hear and/or understand, we did hear at least 4 "f" words, 3 "s" words and many uses of "bitch" and "nigger."

PROFANITY

At least 42 "f" words (11 used with "mother"), 38 "s" words, 2 slang terms using female genitals ("p*ssy" and "poon"), 17 asses (1 used with "hole"), 11 hells, 3 damns, 1 incomplete S.O.B. and 1 use each of "G-damn" and "Jesus" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

Daria shows a great deal of cleavage while trying to distract a security guard. She then notes that he's gay (based on an open beefcake magazine - showing a bare-chested man) and thus informs Tommy that he'll have to put on his gay act to distract the man. That includes some gay-related references such as having a weakness for a man in an uniform and all he can thus think about is seafood/see food as well as saying that he's "big in the pants" and "can almost tie it in a knot." He then suggestively tells the guard perhaps he'll have to break the law so that the guard will wrestle him down (the guard then suggestively says he can be pretty rough). Tommy mentions getting excited by this talk, and that the guard can probably hit a ten on the Richter scale anytime.

Daria shows more cleavage while lying on top of a subway train (the camera focuses on it, as does Tony).

We briefly see part of the cover of a porno magazine, but don't see anything explicit.

Chambers makes some sexual comments, including telling Tony to come by some time and "check out the poon."

Various women show cleavage in a club where Daria purposefully comes on to the owner (we later learn just as a way to distract him). He then takes her up to his office, closes the drapes and sits down to watch her. Moments later, we see her doing a dance to music for him. She takes off her top and we see her in her bra (the camera focuses down her body to her butt and then on her breasts). She then rubs her knee along his inner thigh/crotch area and licks his face. She then undoes her small skirt and wiggles around (we see several low camera angles looking up at her small panties and part of her bare butt as well as a full shot of her in her bra and panties). We then see her removing her top (from behind) and partially and briefly see the side of her bare breast as she does more sexual dancing. She then rubs her hands across him and later we see her working on his belt before they're interrupted. Later, a big thug (who's been assigned to keep her from leaving) tells her, "I've got the big one" (referring to his penis). After she hits him, she tells him to keep it in his pants.

Tommy talks about what it would be like doing it with a woman on the edge of a hot tub he sees.

A person makes sexual references to something nonsexual and talks about "get me off" and "bust a nut."

SMOKING

Chambers smokes a cigar, while Archie has a cigar in his pocket and another man has an unlit cigar.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

Tony worries about his daughter after she's kidnapped.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Part of the plot deals with criminals trying to sell a plutonium device to the highest-bidding arms dealer.

Kidnappings.

Leading a life of crime.

VIOLENCE

A criminal tries to hit Su, but he avoids that and then punches that man. The man then tries to hit him with a bottle, but Su blocks that (breaking the bottle) and then repeatedly punches and kicks this man (knocking him backwards).

Tony and his crew use a small missile of sorts to yank away part of a wall.

Su kicks Miles to the ground. Miles then repeatedly tries to hit Su who simply avoids the blows before delivering his own to Miles. This continues for a few moments until Su kicks him backwards to the ground.

A man has apparently been tortured (we see blood on his face, hand and in his eye) and we later see him dead and partially submerged in a large aquarium.

Tony tries to hit Su who avoids and blocks the blows.

After being followed, Tony pushes a trash dumpster backwards with his car into the pursuing truck. He then gets out and punches one man in the truck, but several people then try to shoot him. More hitting ensues and then stops when one guy holds his handgun to Tony's face. Su then shows up and strikes the bad guy on his head and his gun goes flying. He and Tony then fight various bad guys (martial art hitting and kicking as well as Tony head-butting his opponent and then throwing him into a wall). More fighting follows with Tony and Su repeatedly knocking guys backwards against a fence.

One of Ling's followers smacks Vanessa.

Chambers' cook goes to hit Tony with a meat cleaver, but Su takes him out with one punch.

Vanessa kicks a thug in the crotch, grabs a van key and then drives a van around a warehouse, crashing into things (she can't see since the windows have been painted). They eventually catch her and we then see that they have her bound and gagged with duct tape.

We briefly see some punching and kicking taking place between competitors in a closed ring contest.

Tony breaks through an office window by rappelling down through it.

A man backhands Daria after realizing her sexual come-on was just a ploy to distract him.

Tony and Miles blow open a safe.

Daria kicks a guy in the crotch and hits him in the face.

Tony punches and struggles with various thugs. One of the thugs then hits him.

We see more fighting in the closed ring contest. Su must then fight another competitor in the ring, but initially just avoids the punches and kicks. A diminutive emcee then repeatedly tries to punch and kick Su. He then swings that small guy around and uses him to strike others. Many large fighters then enter the ring to fight Su and he kicks and punches many of them. During that fight, he twists and apparently breaks a guy's wrist and then graphically breaks his arm (no blood, but it's bent the wrong way). He then grabs a guy by the bottom of the rib cage and throws him aside. Su then grabs a guy's earring and rips it out (with lots of blood). Later, Su repeatedly hits and strikes a large fighter, but cannot hurt him. That large guy then grabs Su, picks him up and slams him onto the mat. Su then kicks that guy in the crotch. More punching and kicking ensues with others. A large fence then slams down onto various spectators and Su kicks more people from there. He also throws a guy over a bar and into various bottles that break.

Tony hits various cops as he escapes from their custody. Later, two pursuing police cars crash into each other. Tony then drives through an office building window on an ATV. A pursuing motorcyclist then wipes out and his bike falls from several stories down to the alley below him (he barely holds onto the building).

It's implied that Archie has zapped a guy with his stun gun (we don't see the impact).

Ling suddenly stabs a guy with something, then kicks a criminal boss backwards, and steps down onto his head. Moments later, we see the boss dead with some sort of utensil sticking out of the back of his head (no blood).

We see various dead people on the floor (one has blood on the side of his head).

Mad at what's occurred, Tony picks up some sort of bowling ball-sized ball and throws it into some furniture, breaking it.

Miles shoots two thugs with a sniper rifle (wounding or killing them). He then fires various shots at another thug who chases after Vanessa.

A bad guy shoots at Archie and Tommy (and their tank) with a large machine gun. Tommy eventually fires back with the large machine gun on top of the tank, hitting the other shooter (no blood). Later, Tommy blasts a car with the machine gun and the tank then crushes that car (no one is hurt).

Su fights a woman who's attacked him (with martial arts punches and kicks). A woman then shoots at Su with a handheld machine gun and more fighting follows.

A man pushes people aside.

Daria and another woman fight with punches and kicks, as well as the other woman having something wrapped around Daria's neck (before she kicks her down).

Tommy fires a shot from the tank that hits the back of a helicopter, causing it to spin around and then crash to the ground. It leaks fuel, slides into a building and explodes, sending it up into the air and then back to the ground (one man gets out, but we don't know about the pilot).

Tony and a thug exchange blows as Tony tries to protect his daughter.

Su and Ling get into a long martial arts fight with many punches and kicks. At the same time, we keep cutting to Tony and the thug fighting (with Vanessa biting the thug on the hand and Tony hitting the thug with landing gear blocks, the nonmoving propeller hitting the thug in the crotch, and the thug is clotheslined on a plane wing) as well as Daria still fighting with the woman.

A woman spins a machine gun around during a struggle and shoots and kills another woman (no blood).

A plutonium pill is jammed down inside a guy's throat. It then heats up and burns through his throat and eventually burns away all of his flesh, etc. to reveal a skeletal figure.

Reviewed February 25, 2003 / Posted February 28, 2003

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