Synopsis:

When his girlfriend is kidnapped by a criminal mastermind, New Orleans police detective Danny Baxter (Cena) must wage a 12 round battle of wits if he ever wants to see her alive again.

Our Thoughts:

WWE wrestler John Cena goes for a second shot on the big screen March of 2009, starring in the Renny Harllin directed 12 Rounds.

Since this bound to draw comparisons to Cena’s big screen debut The Marine (2006), let’s start there.

While John Cena’s lack of actor training was evident in the slow scenes of The Marine (2006). Cena, thankfully, was able to redeem himself in the action sequences, and the slow scenes were few and far between. 12 Rounds will probably follow this same scenario - keep Cena jumping, and keep the viewers happy.

While Cena had to face off against accomplished actor Robert Patrick in The Marine (2006), this time around he’s going up against lesser known actors (there’s some dispute at the moment as to whether the foe is Steve Harris or “The Wire”’s Aidan Gillen). While Patrick was able to make his scenes some of the best parts of The Marine (2006), will these lesser known actors be able to do the same with 12 Rounds?

Seems Cena is starting to carve out a niche for himself in the avenging boyfriend action genre. Can’t this guy hold on to a girlfriend? Maybe he should start investigating in some bodyguards for his flame.

Director Renny Harlin is also an iffy prospect. Since his films range from entertaining (The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), Cliffhanger) to downright awful (Cutthroat Island, Deep Blue Sea), 12 Rounds could go either way.

Still, if Renny was able to make Sly Stallone himself relevant again with Cliffhanger, shouldn’t he be able to make Cena the big action star WWE apparently wants him to be?

With so much still up in the air about 12 Rounds, I’m saving judgement until I see a trailer.

 

You Might Also Like...