Heavy on stunts but light on plausibility, humor, surprise, visual ingenuity or psychological depth.
Comment
09/01/09
12 Rounds (2009)
28
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:64
Fresh:18
Rotten:46
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: Energetic but empty, 12 Rounds' preposterous plot hurtles along at a rapid pace, but can’t disguise the derivative script.
Theatrical Release:Mar 27, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $12,220,258
Synopsis: Finnish director Renny Harlin (CLIFFHANGER, DIE HARD 2) brings first-time screenwriter Daniel Kunka’s story to life in the fast-paced action film 12 ROUNDS. When New Orleans police officer Danny... [More]
Starring: John Cena, Aidan Gillen, Ashley Scott, Steve Harris
Director: Renny Harlin
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Reviews for 12 Rounds
Top CriticAwfully forgettable, but Harlin makes things go boom again, with ruthless efficiency that puts the flick just over the hump of the straight-to-cable Jeff Speakman school. [Blu-ray]
08/12/09
With all the nuance of a fist to the groin, ... (it's) the kind of forgettable film that isn't impossible to enjoy but that only a Cena fan could truly love.
07/24/09
A very satisfying and well made action thriller that could only be improved if Arnold Schwarzenegger was the star.
07/09/09
With its wonderful post-Katrina NOLA setting and the standard stunt spectacle as only Harlin can deliver, 12 Rounds is actually quite good. It's no masterpiece, but then again, few post-millennial adrenaline rushes have been.
07/04/09
...a decent action movie that could've been a great one...
06/24/09
Loud, idiotic nonsense.
06/02/09
Apart from the palpably improbable storyline, Harlan shows a massive disregard for characterisation, and so much bang-bang editing that you scarcely know where you are.
06/02/09
Cena has the sort of likeable air that suggests he could just make it as an action movie type. However, it won't be thanks to this movie.
06/02/09
This is a welcome throwback for audiences raised on ’90s action flicks — what they used to call “a pulse-pounding roller-coaster thrill-ride of a movie”.
05/29/09
There’s a decent little action movie somewhere inside ‘12 Rounds’: a bit more complexity of character, a few more jokes and a hero who doesn’t look like a two-by-four with a buzz cut might have gone a long way.
05/29/09
While 12 Rounds is well above average for an action movie, it's important not to get too carried away. This is, after all, a picture in which leading lady Ashley Scott is less appealing than her pet pug.
05/29/09
A lunk-headed, brawling action movie with more muscle than brains and the kind of editing that feels like being repeatedly shot in the eyes with a staple gun.
05/29/09
One long blur of car stunts and digital clocks counting down to detonation — passable for lazy television viewing, but not worth the price of a ticket.
05/29/09
It remains to be seen whether this crude, dumbly entertaining outing will encourage the director to tackle more of the Greek myths.
05/29/09
12 Rounds's familiarity undercuts any kind of suspense it hopes to build, and for an action-packed romp it's incredibly dull.
05/29/09
Those in the mood for something kinda dumb but lotsa fun look no further.
05/29/09
The kind of passable in-flight entertainment you could watch half-asleep.
05/29/09
Fun, witless and pretension-free, 12 Rounds is Die Hard meets Saw meets WWE: pure chest-thumping testosterone cinema, edited like a jackhammer and delivered at thrash-punk velocity.
05/29/09
The lack of new ideas might not matter if the puzzles were fresh or entertaining, but they aren't. Director Renny Harlin has made enjoyably daft movies before, including Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight, but here he fails to set our pulses racing.
05/29/09
Latest News for 12 Rounds
May 31, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Renny Harlin
Finnish director Renny Harlin has one of the most schizophrenic CVs in movie-dom. He's directed some of the most beloved action films of the last 20 years, including Die Hard 2,... More...
March 30, 2009:
12 Rounds Star Wants Jericho Film Trilogy 
In a recent interview, 12 Rounds actress Ashley Scott chimes in on rumored plans to bring the cancelled CBS sci-fi show Jericho to the big screen. In short, she's in -- how's a... More...
March 26, 2009:
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This week at the movies, we've got a war of the worlds (Monsters vs. Aliens, with voice work by Reese Witherspoon and Seth Rogan), a demonic abode (The Haunting in Connecticut,... More...
March 26, 2009:
Box Office Guru Preview: Monsters vs. Aliens Ready For Mighty Attack
Ginormica and her mutant pals look to seize control of the North American box office with the animated 3D adventure Monsters vs. Aliens which will try to overtake a group of... More...
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