Cena's stiff manner barely matters in 12 Rounds, in which he plays a cop rather than a fighter, because this is all about big explosions.
Comment
05/29/09
12 Rounds (2009)
28
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
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:27-05-2009
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
Reviews for 12 Rounds
As brain-off Friday night entertainment, it almost suffices – but only because the quality of brain-off Friday night action has been lowered so significantly in recent years.
05/29/09
Yet another American thriller with little to engage the brain.
05/29/09
Cena has neither the ease nor the appeal of Dwayne Johnson – the one true Rock – and the film's steroidal pastiche of 1990s thrillers (Speed and Die Hard with a Vengeance) is faintly embarrassing.
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
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
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
Skip the cop rot – it will damage your brain.
05/29/09
Loud, idiotic nonsense.
06/02/09
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
The kind of passable in-flight entertainment you could watch half-asleep.
05/29/09
Top CriticThere’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
Top CriticA 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
Top CriticIt remains to be seen whether this crude, dumbly entertaining outing will encourage the director to tackle more of the Greek myths.
05/29/09
Top CriticThere's nothing here we haven't seen before, the action is laid on thick and fast with plenty of explosions and car chases, making this Big Dumb Fun of the first order.
05/29/09
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
Top CriticFun, 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
While the plot is completely daft the film is also engagingly diverting.
05/29/09
Hugely entertaining, fast paced and enjoyably old fashioned action thriller that delivers more explosions, chase scenes and action sequences in one film than in the rest of the summer blockbusters put together.
05/28/09
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
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:
Critics Consensus: Monsters vs. Aliens Is A Blast
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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