By Ned Jordan
When New Orleans cops Danny Fisher (John Cena) and Hank Carver (Brian White)
become involved in a Federal pursuit of an Irish master criminal, Miles Jackson
(Aidan Gillen), they manage to make the collar but during the arrest Jacksons
girlfriend is accidentally killed. A year later Jackson manages to break out of
jail and he has revenge on his mind. He kidnaps Fishers live-in girlfriend
Molly Porter (Ashley Scott) and makes Fisher go through a series of 12
challenges. Succeed and he keeps Molly alive and must face the next challenge.
Fail and Molly dies, as well as any innocent people caught too close to the
game.
12 Rounds is a WWE-produced film starring one of its most popular wrestlers,
but that alone shouldnt scare you away from the film. Sure, the acting is
uneven and the plot has its share of leaky holes, but when taken for what it is
its not really all that bad. 12 Rounds is an action-flick with a seemingly
indestructible beefy hero and a dirty, double-crossing villain with a foreign
accident. A lot of explosions, gunfire, and close escapes ensue, all played out
over the backdrop of New Orleans, and as long as you sit back and just go along
for the ride youll find it enjoyable. Expect anything more from it and youll
certainly be disappointed.
The production values on the Blu-ray release of the film are quite good, and
the sharp, hi-def picture really brings all of those pretty explosions into
brilliant color and focus. The sound has been mixed expertly, with all the deep
bass booms of the explosions and staccato reports of weapons fire bringing you
into the action without making it a struggle to hear the dialog.
The Blu-ray release comes packed with special features and a digital copy of
the film to download to your PC, PSP, or iPhone. The film is presented in
its theatrical cut and in an unrated alternate version, but the alternate
version adds all of three minutes to the original film. Most of the
special features tend to be Cena tributes, often with Cena himself paying the
tribute, but the feature on how the film's signature stunt was created and
filmed in the middle of downtown New Orleans is pretty interesting.
Final Rating:
