The 2004 Oscar season has begun with the new film Cradle 2 the Grave. Jet Li and DMX make a powerful onscreen duo as a pair set to stop terrorists out to start global warfare. The duo has screen chemistry similar to the pairing of Robert Deniro and Al Pacino in Heat. With crisp direction by Andrzej Bartkowiak, Cradle 2 the Grave is an instant classic. Just kidding. Its actually nothing more than an insultingly bad action film with a lame and muddled story, and two embarrassingly stone-faced performances that rival any recent Steven Segal films. DMX plays Tony Fate, a mastermind thief whose crew successfully steals a group of priceless diamonds as the film opens. But the diamonds prove to come with more headaches than they are worth. Tony is soon being stalked by Su (Jet Li), a Taiwanese intelligence officer trying to keep the diamonds out of the hands of a mastermind terrorist. When the terrorist kidnaps Tonys daughter, its up to Tony and Su to stop him from getting the diamonds and using them for their real purpose as a means of transporting plutonium so that terrorists can build nukes at a moments notice (Im not making this up).The film is just so bad, its beyond forgiveness. Li made a nice splash in Lethal Weapon 4, but that was five years ago. He is much more suited to bad guy roles that dont require as much screen time, because after a while, its painfully obvious Li is not much of an actor. Like Li, DMX would be better suited as a heavy. Unlike Li, he does manage to give off some screen presence that shows promise. Much of the blame lies in John OBrien and Channing Gibsons screenplay, which seems more intent on getting from one elaborate stunt to the next without concern for a coherent plot line. Bartkowiak, who directed the equally bad Exit Wounds, continues to be more concerned with the visual look of his films. He tries to stage elaborate stunts, starting with the opening heist, and then attempts to top that with each new stunt. The result comes off more silly than awe-inspiring. But I do give credit for Bartkowiak for having a sense of humor. Like Exit Wounds, there is a comedic interplay between Tom Arnold (the best character of the movie, unfortunately) and Anthony Anderson that proves to be the highlight of the film. It seems as though Bartkowiak realizes this fact, as well, as Andersons character mentions Exit Wounds and Arnold responds with the line The movie sucked, but the credits were funny. That may be prove to be the most honest line of dialogue spoken all year. Email sportswriter/movie reviewer Micheal Compton at mcompton@bgdailynews.com. Hell reply, if he hasnt been beaten to a pulp by Li and DMX by then. Cradle 2 the GraveStarring: Jet Li, DMXDirector: Andrzej BartkowiakRating: R for violence, language and some sexual contentPlaying at: Greenwood 6Grade: F