AMB Reviews

12 Rounds: 6.5/10 Stars

Release Date: March 27, 2009

Content Advisory: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action. Near constant action violence, including many fist fights, lots of explosions, car crashes, car and foot chases, and gunfire. A woman is hit by a car and we see her bloody body lying on the ground. Besides that, the rest of the violence is pretty bloodless. A scattering of milder swear words.

Review:

I don't really know what interested me about "12 Rounds." Maybe it was because of my love for "Speed." Either way, "12 Rounds" was entertaining, to say the least...

In Short:

Let's just get this straight before we continue... John Cena needs to stick to wrestling. Either that, or study acting for a couple years. His performance as the main character was just not believable. He rarely ever showed emotion, even after his house exploded and his girlfriend was kidnapped. This film revovles around an escaped convict who kidnaps policeman's, Danny Fischer's girlfriend, Molly. Now, to get her back, he must complete 12 nearly impossible tasks. As unoriginal as the plot was, I couldn't help but stay entertained throughout. Most of the lines were cardboard, but with all of the action raging on around us, there was barely time for any dialogue anyways.

In Full:

After Danny Fischer stops Miles, a criminal trying to pull of a multi-million dollar heist, Mile's girlfriend is accidentally killed. A little while later, Miles escapes from prison and goes after Danny's girlfriend, Molly. Now, if Danny wants to get her back, he must complete twelve near impossible tasks, including saving a crashing trolley, going inside a burning building, and rescuing a man from an elevator about to crash. The plot was formulaic and predictable, as well as quite unoriginal, stealing several themes from "Die Hard 3" and "Speed," but surprisingly, it kept my interest throughout. It's one of those corny thrillers that you simply enjoy because of its mindlessness and unrealism. It's a movie that I shouldn't have liked, but I did.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it was perfect. In fact... the acting was far from it. John Cena is a WWE champion, and he should've just left it at that. Doesn't he get enough attention from that? Apparently not, because this is his second flick, and let's just say that he still remains emotionless and hollow. His acting never shows any range. It comes as no surprise to me that the two films he's starred in have been pure action films, with barely any time for real acting. Thank the Lord for that. Ashley Scott was mediocre as the girlfriend, while Aidan Gillen stole the show as the bad guy, Miles. He reminded me of Dennis Hopper's performance in "Speed."

However, I still remained surprised by this film's visuals. I was expecting something much more low-key and corny, as this was a lower budget film. Surprisingly, everything remained top-notch... visual wise. Walk into this film expecting unrealistic and over the top action and you should be just fine. There's enough explosions, gunfire, and fist fights in here to satisfy any action lover, considering that there's not much else in the film but action. Not enough to cover up the cardboard script, and horrid acting, but it was close. And by close, I mean that it was close enough to keep me entertained and my eyes locked on the screen for its whole one hour, forty eight minute running time.

I usually dedicate this next paragraph to all of the cons I found in the film. However, it seems like I've already mentioned most of them up above. Bad acting. Check. Unoriginal/predictable story. Check. Hollow script. Check. Cardboard lines. Check. Hmmm... what else am I missing? Did I mention that there was a lot of action? Though by now you may be wondering how on Earth I could like this movie... I'm wondering the same thing too. Call me crazy... there was just something about the film that grabbed my interest and practically strangled it.

I feel like this review is confusing. I've explained the story, commented on the acting, visuals, and the cons. What's wrong, you may ask? I just get the feeling that as you're reading this, you must be wondering, "How can this guy dislike so much about this movie and still give it an above average rating? Is he even a critic?!" Well... I try to be, to answer the last question. Maybe you'll hate this movie for the reasons I mentioned above. Or... maybe you'll be like me and find something intriguing in it. Something that, through all of its flaws, sticks out and shines... never once losing its light. This is a movie made only to take its viewers on a fun and exciting joyride that, once over, leaves its viewers with nothing left to think about or provoke thought. And for once... I didn't mind it that way.