12 Rounds
WWE films has been working hard on turning their wrestling stars into Movie Stars and their record is pretty good so far. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a household name and a proven money maker and now they’ve turned their sights on John Cena. His last movie The Marine is currently spawning DVD sequels and then we come to 12 Rounds which only kicked up 12 Million domestically when it was released back in March. I think John Cena has a chance at breaking through but he needs to be more than just a rock jawed tough guy, and if he follows The Rock’s footsteps he will develop his comedy chops to make him more viable.
It is hard sometimes to critically review movies like this because it was never designed to be taken seriously. This is an action movie that was pitched as a non-stop thriller that has a maximum of three minutes between each car crash, explosion, fight, or tirade. The highlight would be the two sequences involving racing enormous vehicles through the city with a high body count and a ton of spectacularly destroyed vehicles. The premise for 12 Rounds is that John Cena’s work as a cop leads to the death of a big crime lord’s girlfriend and a year later he returns for revenge by kidnapping Cena’s wife and forcing him to perform 12 rounds worth of trials to keep her alive. The characters are all very basic from the supergenius mastermind villain to the aggressive Federal agent getting in and out of John Cena’s way. The one exception would be Brian J. White who plays Cena’s partner. I first noticed Brian White on The Shield and he should be given a shot at a big juicy role soon because the supporting roles he has been given aren’t large enough to contain his talent.
Ultimately, this movie is an exercise in stunt work and special effects and the inclusion of John Cena just enhances the effects with his ability to perform all the stunts himself allowing for close and therefore intense camerawork. The story is overblown and the characters leave much to be desired, but if you want to test out a new sound system or want to see a Fire Truck drive down a crowded street with fantastical results this is worth checking out.
Special Features
Rated and “Extreme” Versions of the Film
Two Commentary Tracks – One with Director Renny Harlin, and another with John Cena and the writer Daniel Kunka
Two Alternate Endings
Crash Course: John Cena Stunts
Never Before Cena Gag Reel
The Blu-ray has additional content including
Streetcar Crossing: Film with Caution
12 Bonus Rounds: Making Magic Behind the Scenes Featurette
Keeping Score: The Music of 12 Rounds
Round and Round with Director Renny Harlin and John Cena
Viral Videos
BD live bootstrap – No Idea what this is