Action takes a back seat

More bread and circuses from Joel Silver, the prolific producer of high-end thrillers like “The Matrix” and low-end junk like “Swordfish.” Into the latter category toss “Cradle 2 the Grave,” a noisy, noisome and grammatically incorrect Los Angeles-based thriller that finds martial arts maestro Jet Li, as a Taiwanese government agent named Su, playing second banana to hip-hop’s DMX.

As Tony Fait, a thief who’s too cool to change expressions, DMX glowers through a laughable story that opens with a heist but mostly entails an interminable, double-flanked battle involving a local gang (led by Chi McBride) and a posse of leather-wearing baddies (led by Mark Dacascos, from “Brotherhood of the Wolf”). Cars go zoom, stuff goes ka-boom.

Written by John O’Brien and Channing Gibson, and directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, who directed “Exit Wounds” and the superior Li-Aaliyah vehicle “Romeo Must Die,” “Cradle 2 the Grave” marks the latest addition to that genre hybrid, the hip-hop/chop-socky picture, a.k.a. hip-socky. The most successful of these hybrids are comedies like “Rush Hour,” which earn much of their juice and goodwill by humorously tweaking cultural differences -- from both sides of the divide. The problem is, what’s funny when Jackie Chan teams up with Chris Tucker often ends up being egregiously insulting when Jet Li lands in the hood surrounded by macho toughs who lob racist invective at the quiet Chinese guy who never says anything nasty in return.

True, Li can kick, punch, slap and leap his way out of any ugly situation, but he’s rarely given the chance in “Cradle 2 the Grave.” The few promising skirmishes that do erupt sputter out quickly as if fight choreographer Corey Yuen had dropped his cell connection while phoning in his moves. Then again, maybe Yuen knew better than to attempt anything too ambitious since the filmmakers evince no faith in Li’s ability to hold our attention. Even when he’s going fist to fist against Dacascos in a ring of fire, drenched in water with helicopters smoking in the background, the filmmakers are frantically looking elsewhere. 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.

*

‘Cradle 2 the Grave’

MPAA rating: R, for language and some sexual content.

Times guidelines: Some intense fight scenes, some bloody gunplay, one lewd lap dance.

Jet Li...Su

DMX...Tony Fait

Anthony Anderson...Tommy

Kelly Hu...Sona

Tom Arnold...Archie

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Silver Pictures production, released by Warner Bros. Pictures. Director Andrzej Bartkowiak. Producer Joel Silver. Writers John O’Brien, Channing Gibson. Story John O’Brien. Music John Frizzell, Damon “Grease” Blackman. Director of photography Daryn Okada. Editor Derek G. Brechin. Running time: 1 hour, 41 minutes.

In general release.