12 Rounds – Twelve Rounds (2009)

Directed by: Renny Harlin | 108 minutes | action, thriller, crime | Actors: John Cena, Aidan Gillen, Ashley Scott, Steve Harris, Brian J. White, Gonzalo Menendez, Taylor Cole, Kyle Russell Clements, Peter Navy Tuiasosopo, Travis Davis, Nick Gomez, Brian Stanton, Rosalind Rubin, Billy Slaughter, Kim Collins , Lara Grice, Wayne Ferrara, Douglas M. Griffin, Vincent Flood, Robert Pralgo, Wally Crowder, Luke Albright, Bryan Johnson, Luukas Harlin, John Wilmot, Louis Herthum, David Frye, B. Martin Williams, J. Omar Castro, Brandi Coleman, Roy Huang, Mikki Val, Jada K. Cox, Pauline Boudreaux, Hunter Burke, Danie Coleman

Average thriller with some good action scenes with a story stolen straight from ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance’ and borrowed from a few other classics of the genre, such as ‘Speed’. Yet it never really becomes a poor man’s version of these toppers due to the energetic directing, where the momentum is kept firm.

Only after the confusing and hectic first twenty minutes, in which FBI agents with the assistance of the New Orleans local police attempt to arrest Irish arms dealer Miles Jackson (Aiden Gillen), does the nominal hero – after a rather brief introduction – Danny Fisher ( John Cena) in the picture. He manages to arrest Miles, but during an attempt to escape his girlfriend Erica (Taylor Cole) is run over by a truck. Jackson goes to jail but vows revenge on Danny.

Exactly one year later, Miles appears to have escaped and he has kidnapped Danny’s girlfriend Molly (Ashley Scott) (and at the same time blew up their house, including plumber Phil). Danny has to race across town in ten laps (the first two were done by Miles himself, so the title count is a bit odd) to answer phones in time, open lockers and solve riddles. or Miles will kill Molly.

Director Renny Harlin gives lead actor John Cena and the viewer very little time to breathe as one emergency situation is followed by another in record time. However, there are plenty of people who help Danny: for example, his partner Hank (Brian J. White), a bunch of arrogant and incompetent FBI agents led by George Aiken (Steve Harris), as well as Danny’s own brother Dave (Kyle Russell Clements). who is a firefighter.

The film will never win any awards for the acting. But that is of course never the intention with a film like this. Leading actor John Cena is best known as a wrestler of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), where he became one of the biggest stars. Following one of his predecessors “The Rock” (Dwayne Johnson), he switched to acting in 2001, although he did not say goodbye to his wrestling career at all. After a short adventure with a TV series, he made his film debut in 2006 with ‘The Marine’. ’12 Rounds’ is his second film and it is clear that Cena is not a great actor. Well, he doesn’t have to play Shakespeare either. With his broad, muscular body and a hard look in his eyes, he makes a mainly physical impression, suitable for roles as “tough boy” such as soldier or cop who makes short work of the scum of the street. He lacks the look of The Rock (and of course his ironically raised eyebrow), but manages to hold his own fairly well in the few scenes where he isn’t running, shooting or chasing.

His great enemy Miles Jackson is certainly not a formidable-looking wardrobe in terms of construction to make it really difficult for Cena in that area, but Aiden Gillen makes up for the lack of strength with psychopathic behavior and a taunting voice. It’s not an impressive movie villain, but Gillen still lends a hint of credibility to the grandiose pitfalls his character has set up for Danny Fisher.

The action scenes show that Harlin understands his trade as an action director. It’s a shame his career has been so mixed. For every success like ‘Die Hard 2’ there is a flop like ‘Mindhunters’. With strong, technically well executed stunts he knows how to keep the attention of the viewer. Also note a few minor references to his Finnish nationality, something Harlin puts in all of his films.

’12 Rounds’ is certainly not a high-flyer, but offers a lot of entertainment in the form of chases and shootings and does not bore for a moment. And the golden rule certainly applies to this film: better stolen than badly conceived.