In 12 Rounds, an intrepid cop/detective (John Cena) matches wits with an Irish killer (Aidan Gillen) who's holding his girlfriend hostage in New Orleans. Danny Fisher must go the distance with the madman via "rounds" - that is, challenges - in order to save his girl. Think of it as Saw meets Die Hard, without the profanity and gore.
Now, this is a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) production, so I assumed that it would be kind of action heavy, something that Stallone might have done in the eighties, something with Mack-truck-sized plot holes. But it's not nearly as disappointing; it has an actual plot and throws in enough turns to keep you riveted. Sometimes it helps to have low expectations.
First, here's the good stuff. There are a LOT of explosions. The movie's one big explosion, come to think of it. And of course it is, it's directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger). Now, you might think that a movie that's just one big explosion would get tedious eventually, but the movie's tone hearkens back to those mindless star-powered action movies of yesteryear - that is, the Hero is more superhero than actual guy, and that gives it a little more appeal.
Then there's Cena. For a pro wrestler, he's a very good action star. He's believable and sincere, and since he's in peak physical condition you get the impression that he actually can do the grueling feats he's attempting. His likability here saves the movie, at least to some extent. Cena's not a character I've thought of as particularly charismatic, at least not in the sense that Roddy Piper was/is charismatic, but he's a Git R Done, meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. He's no frills action, a man you could see playing a cop, like here, or a fireman, or an astronaut.
Fisher's adversary, played by Adian Gillen, is a master planner, a meticulous scholar of revenge. The impetus for his kidnapping of Fisher's girl is that Miles Jackson's girl was accidentally killed in a hit and run while they were attempting to flee Fisher a year previously (to the day, of course). Obviously, the girl's death was all Danny Fisher's fault, so Jackson escapes from prison and hatches his elaborate scheme.
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