Movies: 12 rounds * * *
(12A, general release)
HANGING AROUND: WWE wrestler John Cena stars as Danny Fisher, who is forced into an elaborate game with a madman
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Friday May 29 2009
It surely doesn't bode well for any movie when the first words a viewer sees on screen are: "WWE Studios presents ... " Indeed, that heart of yours might sink even further when you realise that the leading man is also a professional wrestler (and, as it happens, a rapper).
Those dubious origins aside, 12 Rounds actually manages to be surprisingly enjoyable: dumb as a box of hair, but sufficiently entertaining nonetheless in a guilty pleasure kind of way.
It's also probably the most retro action movie you'll see all year. That's because the role and perception of the action hero within our pop culture has been totally transformed in the past six years thanks to the Three Bs: Jason Bourne, James Bond (a la Daniel Craig) and Jack Bauer. They are all distinctly 21st-century action heroes: lean, conflicted, often morally suspect, serving as perfect mirrors of our troubled, paranoid times.
In such a re-calibrated action sphere, there seemed to be no place for the body-building, one-liner-quipping lugs of yore such as Sly, Arnie, Dolph and Jean Claude.
So you really have to admire 12 Rounds for basically ignoring the past decade or so, and presenting an old-fashioned (ie early-1990s-style) action romp pitting a simple, all-American muscle-bound good guy against an evil European baddie using an entire city landscape to wreak a personal vengeance.
And who better than Finnish director Renny Harlin, who was at the helm of such 'vintage' classics as Die Hard 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight and Cliffhanger, to oversee this cinematic disinterment?
WWE wrestler John Cena stars as Danny Fisher, a New Orleans detective who somewhat inadvertently foils a multi-million dollar heist carried out by elusive terrorist mastermind Miles Jackson (played by Drumcondra native Aidan Gillen) and Jackson's leggy girlfriend is killed in the failed robbery. The baddie is locked up, but not before he vows revenge on Fisher for ruining his life.
Cut to one year later: Jackson escapes from prison and arrives back in town to make good on his promise. He kidnaps Fisher's sweet fiancée Molly (Ashley Scott), and forces the cop into an insanely elaborate game through the streets, buildings and public transport facilities of the city lasting -- you guessed it -- 12 rounds, each of which he must successfully complete if he is to ever see his loved one again.
Curiously, this plot contrivance is what makes 12 Rounds so enjoyable, but is also what ultimately undermines it.
There is tremendous fun to be had anticipating just how ridiculous the next 'round' is going to be, and in that regard the movie doesn't disappoint, as each one involves a riddle or ticking timebomb scenario more bonkers than the one previous.
However, it would have worked a lot better if it was called Seven Rounds, as the sheer number of action set pieces soon begins to test the patience, especially since each one is such a shameless pastiche of (or perhaps an homage to?) the classics of the action genre such as Speed and the various Die Hard flicks. It all points to a distinct lack of imagination on director Harlin's behalf.
Cena makes for an adequately brawny every-action-man, while Gillen runs riot with his character, deploying his by- now trademark blend of fey menace to good effect.
But they are both let down by a script chock-full of dialogue that's crafted and delivered with all the wit and flourish of a talking WWE action figure.
Having said that, 12 Rounds is still good, honest, leave-your-brain-at-the-door Friday evening viewing that will just about fill the popcorn-movie interregnum between the release of last month's Star Trek and next month's Transformers 2.
- Paul Whitington
