12 Rounds (2009)

Detective Danny Fisher discovers his girlfriend has been kidnapped by a ex-con tied to Fisher's past, and he'll have to successfully complete 12 challenges in order to secure her safe release.

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writer:

Daniel Kunka

Stars:

John Cena, Ashley Scott, Aidan Gillen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cena	...	Danny Fisher
Aidan Gillen	...	Miles Jackson
Ashley Scott	...	Molly Porter
Steve Harris	...	George Aiken
Brian White	...	Hank Carver
Gonzalo Menendez	...	Ray Santiago
Taylor Cole	...	Erica Kessen
Kyle Russell Clements	...	Dave Fisher (as Kyle Clements)
Peter Navy Tuiasosopo	...	Willie Dumaine
Travis Davis	...	Anthony Deluso
Nick Gomez	...	Samuel
Brian Decaro	...	FBI Agent Gator
Rosalind Rubin	...	FBI Agent Sheila
Billy Slaughter	...	Technician
Kim Collins	...	Phil the Plumber

Storyline

Uniformed New Orleans PD officer Danny Fisher earns his promotion to detective to his near-rather lucky, albeit brave, arrest of ruthless terrorist arms-dealer Miles Jackson, whose girlfriend Erica Kessen got accidentally killed during the dirty FBI-operation. Exactly a year later, Miles has escaped and blows up Danny's house as foretaste of a Herculean race to accomplish twelve near-impossible tasks against the clock, otherwise his kidnapped wife Molly will be killed. Yet at the end, another master-plan is suspected.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | terrorist | police shootout | fire | fall | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Twentieth Century-Fox [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 2009 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Les 12 épreuves

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£326,804 (UK) (29 May 2009)

Gross:

£612,954 (UK) (5 June 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Atomic, Mark Gordon Company, The, Midnight Sun Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Renny Harlin on the DVD commentary that all the producers were against having a pug in the movie until Renny pitched it to John Cena who thought it was a great idea. Daniel Kunka explains on his own DVD commentary that when Renny pitched the pug, he was against it so much that he decided that it would be a Bulldog and kept that in the script until Renny changed it to the pug.

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Goofs

In the police car in the beginning of the movie, the date on the video of the girl says 7/17/08 (despite this being May 2008).

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Quotes

Det. Danny Fisher: I'm training the world's most dominant pug. He's going through a bulking phase.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Duplicity/Knowing/I Love You, Man (2009)

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Soundtracks

Danny Boy
Written by Frederick Edward Weatherly (as Frederick Weatherly), Harold Samuel
Courtesy of Boosey & Hawkes

User Reviews

For what it is, it's decently solid.

Yes, I saw this movie. Why? Because it was free. No one expects this to be a groundbreaking action movie that changes the face of the genre. I didn't even expect it to be a decent ripoff. But hey, I had a good time watching this one...it's not going to go down as epic or anything, but it's certainly not the worst product featuring a wrestler in a starring role (Doom, anyone?). This is all well and good, but they should change the title of this film to '12 Rounds of Insanity', because there's no way any of this movie is possible.

That's where the chuckles will begin. The premise of this movie, pretty much 'Saw' crossed with 'Speed', is rather clever - it's the one reason I didn't hate the movie - however, this doesn't change the fact that this is one of the most ridiculous and insane movies of recent memory. I don't mean insane like...cool insane. I mean insane as in that only an insane person could see the events of the film as realistic.

Is Renny Harlin still capable of directing decent action? Sure, as '12 Rounds' doesn't do a bad job supplying some quality stunts and explosions, which, let's face it - is all the audience really wants from this movie. 'Die Hard 2' was a worthy entry in that series (though it may be the most forgettable), but hey, Harlin does pack the movie with enough action and thrills to make it at least somewhat entertaining.

John Cena, as we know, is not an actor...I do not expect him to deliver award worthy work, therefore he does not disappoint. He does have an air of likability about him, but he doesn't have the same level of charisma as most other action stars nowadays. I don't even think he smiles in this movie. Again, is Harlin known for getting great performances? No, so you shouldn't expect anything more. What's kind of sad is that the actors in the movie, the people who actually have that as their first profession, are nothing short of laughable. Ashley Scott in particular was disappointing because of her lack of emotion. Aidan Gillen is a passable villain (though he couldn't have been cheesier if he tried), and is also the character hurt most by the ridiculous events in the script. Brian White as Cena's partner was probably my favorite character and performance in the film.

In short, '12 Rounds' is not a movie that should be taken overly serious. It aims for an audience who expects cool explosions, a fast talking villain, and a ton of action. In that respect, this movie is alright. It's also the first action movie this year that the kids (around 9 or 10 and up) should be okay in, as there's very little language and no sex at all. If you go in with low to modest expectations (or are in the mood for exactly what it promises), '12 Rounds' might just be a decent movie.