Cradle 2 The Grave - Cynicism and Condescension

Jan

6

Cradle 2 The Grave - Cynicism and Condescension

≡ Category: Action, Not Worth Your Time, United States |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: United States
Genre: Action
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Year: 2003

Rating:

NOT WORTH YOUR TIME

For a while there in the early 2000s, there was a calculated attempt to mainstream Hong Kong style kungfu by pairing martial artists with rappers turned actors, hip hop and urban culture in general. Some canny producers, like Joel Silver and Luc Besson, knew that a sizable minority of African Americans have historically been fascinated by Asian culture. These producers figured that if they set out to flatter and seduce this audience by legitimizing ghetto slang and couture as “cool,” they could hook the audience on the action elements.

In financial terms, these films were partially successful, but at great artistic cost, especially the ones produced by Joel Silver. In his hip hop inflected martial arts films, Silver glorifies illiteracy and stupidity in the most ridiculous ways imaginable, one of the worst offenders being Cradle 2 The Grave. Anthony Fait, DMX’s character, can barely put two syllables together and his decision making processes peg him as a moron, and yet we’re supposed to believe that he could put together a sophisticated robbery of a heavily protected diamond center. In your dreams, pal. In fact, that’s the point. Joel Silver, the producer of Cradle 2 The Grave, was gambling that his audience would identify with the idea that you could be a brain dead twit like Fait and still be highly effective. I know that it’s hard to underestimate the intelligence of an American audience, but Silver sure tries.

Aside from making sure that the characters register as simpletons, the plot turns from screenwriter John O’Brien are just off-the-charts stupid.

Now, I don’t expect a surfeit of cleverness and subtlety from an action picture, but there are limits to how grotesque you can make the violations of logic without losing me.

I should make clear that the problem really isn’t the actors. Director Andrzej Bartkowiak is making a modern day minstral show, and his actors give their best Step-In-Fetchit imitations.

Nor is the filmmaking itself all that bad. Some of the action is watchable enough. It had better be with an action choreographer like Corey Yuen and a performer like Jet Li front and center.

Notice that this is the first time I’ve mentioned Jet Li. That’s because any pleasure to be had from the action elements is swamped by brain-deadening rap and other intentional slumming calculated to bring in an “urban” audience.

For dedicated fans of Jet Li, I advise watching with the sound turned off and a remote control with the index finger poised above the fast forward button.