Review of 12 Rounds (2000) by Erik T — 07 Sep 2009

Have nothing at all to do? No self-esteem whatsoever? Feel like taking the idea of "wasting time" to a whole new level? If so, boy do I have the right movie for you - the John Cena, Renny Harlin debacle "12 Rounds" will not only waste your time, but make the very act of wasting time remarkably dull.

In this sloppy mess the WWE's John Cena plays a cop that takes down the bad guy, but accidently kills the bad guy's girlfriend in the process. Of course the bad guy eventually comes looking for revenge, and of course his chosen method of revenge is needlessly complicated, and borderline stupid.

The script is a mess and a half - a hodgepodge of ideas swiped from better action flicks over the years that never really come together. Cena's "acting" is pretty much what you would expect, and his enemy is the absolute least intimidating tough guy in the history of least intimidating tough guys.

The "action" in this "action movie" is sloppy, uninteresting, and poorly made, which is pretty much par for the course when it comes to director Renny Harlin these days. At least he's consistent? In case you haven't already guessed, my advice is to skip this one.

Nothing is working, and you end up wanting to shut it off about fifteen minutes in. Even the most easily satisfied action film fans will be left disappointed.