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This Jet Li double-feature includes two of his most action-packed films.
CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE: Jet Li once again joins up with a musical costar in Andrzej Bartkowiak's thrill-a-minute CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE. Li was introduced to American audiences as the villain in Richard Donner's LETHAL WEAPON 4, which featured former Crystals lead singer Darlene Love. Li got his first English-language starring role in Bartkowiak's ROMEO MUST DIE, with the late Aaliyah and rapper DMX. The director has reteamed Li and DMX as men on opposite sides of the law who are forced to work together in CRADLE. DMX plays Fait, a powerful man with a deep love for black diamonds but a deeper love for his daughter (who gets kidnapped). Li is Su, a Taiwanese agent--Fait calls him the Kung Fu James Bond--who has come to Los Angeles to find the stones and capture his former partner, Ling (Mark Dacascos), who is after the gems as well. The action is fast and furious as Su sides with Fait to battle helicopters, trains, fancy cars, motorcycles, tanks, and flying ATVs in rings of fire and pouring rain. High-tech heists and heavy heat send the action quotient soaring while Tom Arnold supplies comic relief and karate hottie Kelly Hu adds mystery and romance (along with awesome martial arts stunts).
ROMEO MUST DIE is the story of fathers and sons, of the importance of blood, of star-crossed lovers willing to risk their lives for their love. Two warring families, one Chinese, one African American, are fighting for control of the Oakland waterfront. It's an eye for an eye as members of each gang keep turning up dead--including the son of Ch'u Sing, the Chinese gang leader, which escalates the war to epic proportions. Into this fray comes Han Sing (Jet Li), Ch'u's other son, a cop who has escaped from a Hong Kong prison where he was serving time for not arresting his father and brother. Han soon becomes a little too friendly with Trish O'Day (Aaliyah), the daughter of Isaak O'Day (Delroy Lindo), the leader of the African American gang. The growing romance between Han and Trish parallels the growing body count.
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