OPENS MARCH 28, CERT 15, 101 MINS
They may only have eight letters between them, but Jet Li and DMX are a force to be reckoned with in Andrzej Bartkowiak’s martial arts action caper. Okay, so they’re rather limited in the acting stakes?DMX growls every line in the same menacing monotone, while Li prefers not to speak at all?but the former’s bling-bling gangsta attitude and the latter’s awesome capacity to kick butt ensure that Cradle rocks.
By marrying the kinetic combat of Hong Kong cinema to the pulsating energy of US street culture, producer Joel Silver has fashioned an appealing hybrid (hip hop kung fu) that caters to more than one demographic. It’s also one tailor-made for his leading men’s strengths: Jet’s Chinese agent looks after the whupp-ass, while DMX’s jewel thief takes care of the hardware (tanks, missiles, fast cars and quad bikes). The fanciful plot involves a race to locate some futuristic weapon of mass destruction, with everything climaxing in mano a mano fisticuffs between Li and Mark Dacascos (Brotherhood Of The Wolf) inside a ring of fire. Video cultdom beckons.