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12 Rounds
| Movie Rating: |
 | 6/10 |
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| DVD Rating: |
| 6/10 |
|
| Overall Rating: |
| 6/10 |
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Movie Details: View Here
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Starring:
John Cena
Steve Harris
Aidan Gillen
Special Features:
Theatrical Version And Unrated Version Of The Film
2 Alternate Endings With Optional Commentaries
A Crash Course: John Cena Stunts
Never-Before-Cena Gag Reel
Unrated Version Commentary By Director Renny Harlin
Unrated Version Commentary By Writer Daniel Kunka And Actor John Cena
Other Info:
Video: Widescreen 2.39:1 Color
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
Spanish: Dolby Digital Surround
French: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Run Time: 108 min
Rating: PG-13
Synopsis from DVD Cover:
When New Orleans Police Detective Danny Fisher (John Cena) stops a brilliant thief from getting away with a multimillion-dollar heist, the thief's girlfriend is accidentally killed. After escaping from prison, the criminal mastermind enacts his revenge, taunting Danny with 12 rounds of near-impossible puzzles and tasks that he must somehow complete to save the life of the woman he loves.
Quick Review:
"12 Rounds" isn't bad. I'll just say that straight out - it's not bad. There are, as with any type of action movie, plenty of instances that toss believability out the window, but there are adrenaline rushes and big blow up chases and a few tricky tricks. Acting issues, yes, but Cena's not the screen poison some say he is, and Aidan Gillen makes a fun and watchable villain.
Danny Fisher (Cena) is an everyman cop who's just moved in with his girlfriend Molly (Ashley Scott) and seems to have a pretty decent life. Then one night, on a call with his partner, he accidentally and inadvertently causes the death of the true love of a very dangerous man (Gillen), who breaks out of prison exactly one year later and takes Molly, taunting Danny to come and get him and win her back by playing along with 12 rounds of an ever-increasingly deadly game through New Orleans.
I tell ya, it could've been worse. While Cena may not be Oscar material, he's likeable and actually seems pretty at home in this type of role, and he and Scott managed to seem like a couple to root for to survive. As bad guy Miles Jackson, Gillen is snarky and appealing, and he actually pulls off creating a persona that could conceivably have done all that darn planning ahead. The rest of the cast ranges from good to okay, and nobody is absolutely horrible. The dialogue is pretty clunker-laden, mainly gems like, "Let's dance," when the FBI is getting ready to bust Miles, or pretty much anything said by Danny's partner Hank, but the story itself is full of nice twists, and the action is done well. Director Renny Harlin did "Die Hard 2," among other action classics, and he knows how to make with the fast cars and the blow-em-ups. I've always had a guilty pleasure spot for movies with time limits, so turning some of Danny's rounds into timed completion speaks to me on a "Ninja Warrior," give-me-a-grade level. Again, some crazy stuff goes on that kills us mere mortals in real life, but if you're a guy in WWE - even if you're in a movie where you're a plain 'ol Joe Schmo - it's almost believable, and if not that, then fun for a summer rental at least.
As for the DVD itself, not a bad little set of Special Features. There are two versions of the film-I watched the "Extreme Cut," and though I didn't see the theatrical version, from what I've gathered, there's not a whole lot of difference. There's Audio Commentary from director Renny Harlin, writer Daniel Kunka, and John Cena, as well as two Alternate Endings where they also offer their views - the endings really only amount to being the same ending with a different one-liner. The "Never-before-seen Cena gag reel" featurette is short but kind of fun, including a bit about how everyone on the film wanted to win each day's MVP award from Harlin so they could score a bottle of Finnish vodka, and stunt fans will enjoy the "Crash Course: John Cena Stunts" featurette.
In Conclusion:
John Cena's not going to be up for any complex roles any time soon, but as long as he's not engaging in in-depth conversations or expressing a bunch of emotions, we're good, and as an action hero cop-type, he pulls off a decent action flick.
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