12 Rounds

4 stars

12 Rounds is worth a trip to the theatre.

Rating: 14A
Stars: John Cena, Aidan Gillen, Ashley Scott

What’s the story?
While in pursuit of a notorious murderer and dealer named Miles Jackson (Gillen), Detective Daniel Fisher (Cena) witnesses the brutal death of Miles’s girlfriend. A year later, Daniel gets a phone call from Miles, who has escaped from prison and is looking for vengeance. Miles kidnaps Daniel’s girlfriend, Molly (Scott), and tells Daniel that if he doesn’t complete the 12 tasks he has assigned to him in the set amount of time, his kidnapped girlfriend will die! Now Daniel is in a life and death race against the clock. Will Daniel be able to rescue Molly? Or will he die before he has a chance to do so? Only time will reveal how this story will unfold.

Why see it?
12 Rounds is an absolute thrill ride. This movie doesn’t glorify killing or what people are willing to do for revenge as much as it shows you how far a person is willing to go to save the life of a loved one. No matter the task, Detective Daniel Fisher always impresses. His quick thinking and muscular body (John Cena is a WWE superstar, after all) are quite impressive as nothing will stand in the way of him and his beloved. Surprisingly, I would not recommend this movie for its action and adventure; instead, I would recommend it for the plot twists. The ending is extraordinary and the movie is worth seeing just to find out what happens at the end.

Problems?
Director Renny Harlin probably could have reduced the number of tear-jerker scenes in this movie, although, thankfully, the scenes only serve to reinforce how far Daniel is willing to go to save his girlfriend. Also, there is a lot of violence in this movie. While it is tolerable, it means the movie isn’t for the faint of heart.

All in all:
John Cena is brilliant as Detective Danny Fisher as he matches brains and brawn to save his girl.