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Overall Rating : 7/10
Directed By : Renny Harlin
John Cena (The Marine)
Aidan Gillen (The Wire (TV) )
Ashley Scott (Walking Tall (2004) )
Steve Harris (Quarantine)
Supplied By : Fox Home Video
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : June. 29, 2009
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| PLOT When New Orleans Police Detective Danny Fisher stops a brilliant thief from getting away with a multi-million dollar heist, the thief’s girlfriend is accidentally killed. After escaping from prison, the criminal mastermind enacts his revenge, taunting the cop with a series of near-impossible puzzles and tasks… 12 Rounds… that Fisher must somehow complete to save the life of his fiance. |
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| THE REVIEW After the botched capture of an international criminal by the name of Myles Jackson by the FBI, he is intercepted by Officer Danny Fisher and his partner. Jackson's getaway ends in a standoff with Fisher that ultimately and inadvertently ends with the death of Jackson's girlfriend who was attempting to help him get away. Fully blaming Fisher for for her death, Myles tells Fisher for his name, and vows to get his revenge. Fast forward to a year later Fisher and his partner Hank Carver have both been promoted to Detective despite Danny being reluctant. A short time later, Danny receives a phone call, and on the other end is Myles Jackson himself. No stranger to escape, Myles has escaped prison and has tracked down Danny to make good on his promise. He kidnaps Danny's girlfriend Molly and says the only way Danny will ever see her is to participate in a game he calls 12 ROUNDS. The game consists of 12 ROUNDS, each containing a specific task in which Danny is to complete - and with each round the tasks grow more and more difficult. 12 ROUNDS is the fourth and latest release from World Wrestling Entertainment's film and entertainment branch, WWE Studios.The previous release was BEHIND ENEMY LINES : COLUMBIA, a film that I have yet to see, so I really can't comment on it, however I have seen both THE MARINE and THE CONDEMNED. While neither of them did financially well at the box office, you have to admit, that from an action standpoint, both THE MARINE and THE CONDEMNED, were quite entertaining. So how does 12 ROUNDS hold up? Well in my opinion it's a great film. While I did say that THE MARINE and THE CONDEMNED were both good for their action, that's basically all they are, enjoyable action flicks. They had good action sequences, sure, but when it comes down to it the plots for both of these films were limited to an extent. As for 12 ROUNDS, it's a much better written film, has a fast pace and most of all, everything stays tight until the end. Also unlike the two WWE films that i've seen, 12 ROUNDS also has the employment of a Director whom is much more experienced and skilled in Director Renny Harlin. Harlin has directed some notable films, including LETHAL WEAPON 2, THE EXORCIST prequel THE EXORCIST : DOMINION and guilty pleasures like THE COVENANT, which happens to be one of my favorite films, i'm not afraid to admit. Renny Harlin's experience shows, as this film looks much more polished than John Cena's previous vehicle, THE MARINE, shots are tighter and angles are more "action appropriate"...in other words, it's a better looking film overall. The plot here kept me interested through out, because the story gets more interesting as it progresses, with each new "round" the task is more and more suspenseful, calling for more action and what seems to be more inevitable explosions, which in turn equals a good time(at least it does for me). Back when I reviewed THE MARINE, I was qick to defend the star John Cena against those people claiming that wrestlers can't act. Well, after seeing 12 ROUNDS, I still feel the same way about Cena the actor. Say what you will about Cena the professional wrestler, but as an actor, in my opinion he is very good. This his second feature film, as would be predicted he has improved significantly. Sure he still has a few stiff moments with dialogue, but for the most part he is more fluid here, there are a lot less moments in 12 ROUNDS in which the dialogue seems "manufactured", if you will. I still think John Cena makes a great action star, and i'd even venture to say that I like him even more as an actor than a wrestler, although I know a lot of people may disagree. Cena is aided here with some pretty good performances, from the likes of Steve Harris, who portrays the stubborn head of the FBI(who at first seems to detract Danny than help him). And portraying the villain we have Aidan Gillen as Miles Jackson. Gillen is brilliant as the cocky and confident criminal, whom has escaped every obstacle ever thrown at him. The villain's portrayal was what I thought to be natural and believable, minus the over theatrics that usually plague villains in this type of action film. With what appears to be a slightly bigger budget than THE MARINE, 12 ROUNDS is a film with more action, more explosions and better yet, a far better story. It may have not pulled in as much money as WWE and Vince McMahon were hoping for at the box office, but I have a feeling that 12 ROUNDS will definitely do well on the DVD front. |
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| GORE
METER 3/10 There's not any real serious gore here, just some blood, gunshot wounds and people succumbing to the many explosions and crashes in the film. |
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MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 Just your standard high paced action-thriller type stuff. | ||||
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM 12 ROUNDS, isn't a high caliber film, I can see why it might not have did well at the box office because it's not a film, like say a TRANSFORMERS, but it is quite entertaining none the less. As with both THE CONDEMNED and THE MARINE, 12 ROUNDS ultimately feels like one of those 80s action films that any fan of action should be familiar with. WWE seems to be good at these types of films, so I think they should stick to them rather than going in the rumored tamer direction that they are headed. As far Cena, in my opinion he has had two good films so far and is a great fit for an action star that WWE Films can build themselves around. If you like fast paced action and thrills, then I would have to recommend 12 ROUNDS. This DVD will be released June 30, 2009 |
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