Lets get ready to rumble (12 Rounds (DVD))

Member Name: dididave

Product:	12 Rounds (DVD)
Date:	17/06/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Exciting action, great villain.

Disadvantages: Wooden acting.

Danny Fisher has chased down and captured notorious criminal Miles Jackson. Unfortunately, Jackson's lover is killed when she tries to escape. Twelve months later Jackson escapes from prison and tracks down Fisher kidnapping his girlfriend Molly and blowing up his house. This is round one of "12 Rounds", a dangerous game which Fisher must play to keep his girlfriend alive.

I didn't expect much from this movie. WWE Superstar John Cena is hardly a name I would associate with quality filmmaking with his only other film efforts being a straight to DVD movie in 2006. Any film with a wrestler in the starring role tends to be a bad thing. Over the years numerous wrestling superstars have tried and failed to make the transfer to the silver screen with Hulk Hogan being perhaps the worst example and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson the only notable exception. Fortunately, "12 Rounds" bucks the trend in providing a decent action movie.

A blatant rip-off of "Die Hard with a Vengeance", this film offers nothing original but is a solid and enjoyable popcorn movie. The premise of "12 rounds" allows Cena to be thrown from one perilious situation to the next. Being a constant race against time things never get stale as he hangs from lift shafts and chases down runaway trams. Of course, Cena cannot act to save his life and Danny Fisher is just a bulked up meathead who is driven on by anger and fear. However, he is physical enough to be a strong and relentless presence and convinces me that he is capable of the numerous tests of strength and stamina.

This is a film with a hell of a lot of running and is entirely focused on Cena and his tormentor Miles Jackson. Jackson is played brilliantly by Aidan Gillen and he is certainly the standout performance of the movie. He is made for the role of embittered sociopath and Jackson's arrogance is entirely vindicated by his fiendish challenges.

The action is almost relentless and this is a good thing because when it does slow you start to realise just how much of a clone of the "Die Hard" films this is. It comes complete with token ethnic partner and Cena is Bruce Willis without the memorable one-liners. He also comes with a complete disregard for the city and it's inhabitants happy to crash into anyone as long as they are not directly linked to him. This makes for a far more entertaining movie but does mean that with so many films of this ilk, you have to suspend disbelief as the Police and FBI ignore the fact he destroys half the city.

"12 Rounds" is not a perfect film. The acting from everyone except Gillen is totally wooden and this is a film full of useful coincidences. However, it is a hugely enjoyable action movie that surprised me with exciting action and some decent twists and turns. It won't win any awards but it is better than many pompous film critics would lead you to believe.

Summary: A surprisingly good action movie.