Cradle 2 the Grave
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: February 28, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
36
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
9
Negative:
13
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Boston GlobeJanice Page
This is a ride, a video game, a soundtrack -- unapologetic and clearly labeled as such. It has no middle speed. Read full review
70
Film ThreatKevin Carr
The biggest strength of Cradle 2 the Grave is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyScott Brown
By the time Li enters the obligatory ''ring of fire'' to face his final opponent, you realize just how forthrightly rote and businesslike ''Cradle'' is. And you don't mind. Because business, it turns out, is good. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
When you pay good money to see an action movie, it's understood that you want it to be action-packed. You do not want it to be action-enhanced or action-flavoured or featuring accents of action. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
Ultimately, it's the hip cast that keeps things hopping. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Martial arts hero Jet Li takes on all comers--with one hand in his hip pocket most of the time--in this absurd but breathlessly paced actioner. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
Relentless, infantile and impossible to dislike. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerEllen A. Kim
Even throwing in a spunky fight between female sidekicks (Gabrielle Union and Kelly Hu) isn't enough to float this film over clumsy dialogue and the feeling we've seen it before. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The film itself is on autopilot and overdrive at the same time: It does nothing original, but does it very rapidly. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleC.W. Nevius
Between the off-center comic riffs of Tom Arnold and the wildly improbable hair's-breadth escapes, the whole business dissolves into amiable action farce. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldCary Darling
Cradle boasts a couple of bravura fight and chase scenes but they're stranded amid the predictable and the pedestrian. Read full review
50
VarietyDavid Rooney
Choreographed by long-term Li collaborator Corey Yuen, the martial arts confrontations supply plenty of spark, though they lack the more exhilarating stylistic flourishes of those in "Romeo." Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson become an official comedy duo as they deliver an extraneous (and questionably funny) comedy riff, as they did in "Exit Wounds" over the film’s closing credits. Read full review
38
USA TodayMike Clark
Each actor does his own thing for his own audience demographic. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
I also wondered how the movie got the title Cradle 2 the Grave. Nobody used the phrase; it didn't apply to any characters; it didn't even turn up in a song. Maybe the filmmakers were saving "Rotten 2 the Core" for the sequel. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
A violent, dumb, offensive mess. Read full review
38
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Would be a perfectly decent B-action movie if it weren't shipwrecked in the last act by laughably ridiculous plotting and a lazily executed climax. Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A secondhand action movie that retreads all the tired staples of the 1980s and '90s. Read full review
30
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The cinematographer-turned-director likes his MTV-style editing so much that in his drive for hyperkinetic overkill he sacrifices coherence to wallow in barely contained chaos. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
With so little trust and even less dialogue to back him up, it's no wonder Li rarely takes his left hand out of his pants pocket. His fists aren't furious; they're on strike. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Soulless, sleekly executed product. Read full review
30
Washington PostRita Kempley
It's saying something when Tom Arnold's performance is among the movie's highlights. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Overall the tone is dark and nasty, exemplified by the inelegant signature kung-fu move of the good guys -- a backward kick to the groin. Read full review
20
Village VoiceJon Caramanica
Li barely has enough lines to qualify for a SAG card. Read full review
10
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Its creepy use of DMX's daughter is reprehensible, but the film is otherwise so unrelentingly sleazy that its use of the child-in-danger gambit actually qualifies as one of its subtler moves. Read full review
0
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Replete with audience-insulting writing and blatantly hateful jokes, storytelling like this makes most video game plots look like "Moby Dick." Read full review
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