12 Rounds...But It Doesn't Go The Distance (12 Rounds (DVD))

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	12 Rounds (DVD)
Date:	05/07/09 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A passable and mildly entertaining action movie

Disadvantages: Poor acting. Storyline has been done before.

FILM REVIEW ONLY

It seems that when old WWE wrestlers eventually hang up their leotards they seem to be inclined to use their already considerable acting experience to carve out a new (and no doubt lucrative) career for themselves on the silver screen. Probably the most successful (relatively speaking) of these wrestlers cum actors to date have been Hulk Hogan and The Rock.

One of the latest converts from the WWE ring to the screen is 32-year-old John Cena, who after making his acting debut in a somewhat mindless TV series called "Manhunt" in 2001 took on his first major acting role in an action movie called "The Marine" back in 2006. This was slated by movie fans and critics alike, but not daunted Cena (like all wrestlers) has recently made a comeback performance in another action movie called "12 Rounds" (2009)

In 12 Rounds Cena hangs up his Marine uniform for the badge of a New Orleans street cop called Danny Fisher who through a mixture of sheer doggedness and pure luck manages to get the handcuffs on an Irish arms dealer called Miles Jackson, played by actor Aiden Gillen of the US TV series "The Wire". The Irish gun runner gets handed down a life sentence while our heroic cop Danny boy is elevated to detective. All seems rosy in Danny's world until his world is turned upside down when Jackson breaks out of the clink and heads back for New Orleans hell bent on taking his revenge. In order to save his girlfriend's life Danny must complete one dangerous assignment after another (the 12 rounds) set by the psychopathic Jackson.

On the face of it this mixture makes for an exciting and action-packed movie, and indeed this feat is ably accomplished even if the film is never going to get any kind of award's nomination. The storyline is almost identical to "Die Hard With a Vengeance" (1995) starring Bruce Willis. (Which is the *FAR* superior movie by the way!) Indeed, the movie is even directed by Renny Harlin who directed "Die Hard 2" (1990) so maybe its similarity to the Die Hard series shouldn't be too surprising.

All the elements of the Die Hard movies are milked in 12 Rounds; the bombs, the mayhem and the constant action. The problem is that 12 Rounds is never going to live up to the excitement of the Die Hard series, and even 19 years up the road director Renny Harlin's 1990 Die Hard movie is still far superior to this somewhat weak imitation. That said the movie *IS* fairly entertaining and watchable despite the fact that Cena can't act worth a damn.

12 Rounds has been almost universally slated by the critics but seems to have hit a chord with cinema audiences, already raking in more than 5 times its estimated $22 million budget at the box office. (Easy money if you can get it!)

My own opinion? One to tune into on the telly on a wet and miserable winter's evening, but I wouldn't recommend spending your hard earned cash on the DVD.

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Director: Renny Harlin

Starring: John Cena, Aidan Gillen, Ashley Scott, Steve Harris, Brian J White and Gonzalo Menendez.

Length: 108 minutes

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Summary: A passable and mildly entertaining action movie.