John Cena, one of the country’s most popular professional wrestlers, returns to the action flick. His first film, THE MARINE, was a decent movie that had its moments here and there, but was nothing special. 12 ROUNDS is the second action film the WWE superstar has done to date and, besides some shaking acting, the film is reasonably good.
The plot is not a run-of-the-mill action film. It has all the bangs, booms and crazy effects, but there is some believability with the majority of the action in this flick. The story is simple, yet it has elements that make the plot interesting. The film takes place in New Orleans a few years after the tragedy that was Hurricane Katrina. The FBI has been tracking and trying to catch an international terrorist, Miles Jackson (Aidan Gillen) who has made his way into the New Orleans area. When the setup goes sour, the FBI asks for the help of the local police department to help tack down and catch the suspect. Officer Danny Fisher (John Cena) and his partner Hank Carver (Brain White) come across a woman in a car who fits the description of Jackson’s girlfriend. They follow the car and catch Miles, but the girlfriend is killed by oncoming traffic while attempting to escape.
One year later, Danny is promoted to detective. While on his way to work, he gets a phone call from Miles who has just escaped from prison. Miles tells Danny that he has kidnapped Danny’s girlfriend, Molly (Ashley Scott), and that in order to get Molly back, Danny must play a 12 round game with him and do what he says if he wants to see her alive again. The film becomes one action-packed sequence after another as Danny solves riddles and puzzles to find out what Miles has planned and tries to figure out how to get Molly back alive.
The script is a little bit out of control and some of the scenes are a bit dragged out, but with all the action going on, it’s really hard to get bored with the film which runs one hundred and eight minutes long with an even longer unrated version. The story is good, but the script really is not. The dialogue is singular and, outside of the film’s lead, the character development is not very great. However, this is an action film that I believe was merely made for wrestling fans to go see and be blown away by all the action, and on that level, it delivers.
The film has some very good production values with a lot of action-packed explosions, car chases, gunfights and more. It is one big over the top action-packed film. The sets are very well constructed and the locations are dressed to fit the film’s realistic needs. Where the film fails a bit is in its acting. Now I cannot go crazy on John Cena, as he is a person who is more used to acting in a ring than he is on screen. The script does not help him either with its loose dialogue and stiff one-liners. The supporting cast struggles with the lines as well. It is not that all the acting in the film is bad, it is just that, in some scenes, it is very noticeable that the actors are really having trouble with the script and in delivering their lines.
The Blu-ray disc has a ton of special features. It comes with both the PG-13 and unrated version of the film as well as a digital copy. There are numerous featurettes which all talk about the making of the film, how they pulled off some of the action scenes as well as the film’s stunts. The disc includes The Streetcar Crossing: Film with Caution Featurette, A Crash Course: John Cena Stunts Featurette, 12 Bonus Rounds featurette, Keeping Score: The Music of 12 Rounds, Viral Videos: Hands and Helicopters, Round and Round with Renny and John featurette, A never-before seen John Cena gag reel, two alternate endings with optional commentaries. The unrated version also has two separate tracks with director Renny Harlin and with writer Daniel Kunta and actor John Cena.
Overall, the film is one hell of an action-packed ride that will keep you glued to the screen to the very end, but, do not expect it to be some kind of great masterpiece with a great script and good acting. It is a film that I had fun watching and had to throw the flaws of the film out the window and just enjoy it for what it was. I am sure fans of wrestling will like the flick, but it is not a film that the normal moviegoer will enjoy unless they can forget about the film’s flaws and just get into and enjoy the action.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
