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Released 27th May 2009
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Quite simply, the only thing that will blow you away here is the constant explosions set off throughout the film. 12 rounds may have worked in the eighties and nineties, when the Hollywood studios gave us the likes of Speed, Demolition Man, Die Hard and the Beverly Hills Cop III saga, but the reality for cinema-goers now is, it’s a tired format that has been done too many times and is just not quite slick enough to compete with the action films of today.
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After intercepting an FBI operation and catching the internationally-known terrorist Miles Jackson (Aidan Gillen), Danny Fisher (John Cena) also accidentally kills his girlfriend. One year later, Jackson has broke out of prison and Detective Danny Fisher is about to have the worst day of his life. Jackson kidnaps his girlfriend Molly Porter (Ashley Scott) and forces Danny into “12 Rounds” of dangerous games, carefully plotted throughout the streets of New Orleans, in order to rescue the love of his life before it’s too late.
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12 Rounds is your typical tale of a beat cop who saves the day, only for it to come back and haunt him. The ‘average guy’ must then defeat all the odds and in the process, trash as much of the city as possible. It’s glaringly obvious this is from the director of Die Hard 2 and the producer of Speed, this is a complete mash-up of the two previous hits, right down to the out-of-control city bus sequence. Sadly, it’s lacking the decent story and magic that its predecessors established - plus any originality of its own.
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It’s all too easy to say that the acting is bad - that would be unfair, possibly because the script is so shoddy. Ok, so it’s not like Bruce Willis was a great actor in the Die Hard series, but the scripts had a heart and punch that it was hard not to be drawn in. However, alarms bells do start ringing when your lead is played by an ex- WWE wrestler (Cera) - even if he is incredibly pleasing on the eye! Director Renny Harlin did his best and he did produce an adrenaline-filled, fast-paced film full of tension, but it just lacks the suspense to make it really work.
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If you love full-on cheese and jam-packed action, then this is for you. If you want a bit more depth to your action films, then, sadly, this does not cut the mustard. Not a bad effort, but just not enough to make it one to remember.
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By Rachel Baglin
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Synopsis
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A New Orleans police detective’s girlfriend is kidnapped. WWE champion John Cena is New Orleans Police Detective Danny Fisher. When Baxter stops a brilliant thief from getting away with a multi-million-dollar heist, the thiefs 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 roundsthat Baxter must somehow complete to save the life of his fiancée.
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Film Facts
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Official site: http://www.12roundsmovie.co.uk/
UK Release Date: 27th May 2009
Director: Renny Harlin
Cast: John Cena (Det. Danny Fisher), Aidan Gillen (Miles Jackson), Ashley Scott (Molly Porter), Steve Harris (Special Agent George Aiken), Brian J. White (Det. Hank Carver) and Gonzalo Menendez (Special Agent Ray Santiago).
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Certificate: 12A
Run-time: 107 mins
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Video on Real.com
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Trailer:
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Clips:
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