Even though he is not in the same league as Arnold Schwarzenegger (“Predator”), Sylvester Stallone (“Rambo”) or Jason Statham (“The Beekeeper”), John Cena (“Fast -Heroes done. But the former WWE champion had took some time to get there, because he lacked a bit of charisma, especially in his first films.
Of “Twelve rounds“One of the first action films with which John Cena wanted to promote himself as the tough hero of today can be seen today, February 8, 2024, at 8:15 PM on Tele 5. The result is not a proper genre hit, but when it comes to pyrotechnics and stunt work, director Renny Harlin (“Die Hard 2”) can once again demonstrate his talent for explosive spectacle.
Twelve rounds are about that
Police officer Danny Fisher (John Cena) has managed to thwart a multi-million dollar coup. The fact that he also arrested the wanted top terrorist Miles Jackson (Aiden Gillen) turned out to be a happy coincidence. Things didn’t end well for his girlfriend, as she suffered a fatal accident while trying to escape – and Jackson’s revenge was not long in coming, despite the prison sentence.
He escapes from his cell and kidnaps Danny’s fiancée Molly (Ashley Scott). If Danny, who has been promoted to detective because of his heroic actions, wants to see his loved one alive, he must solve twelve tasks spread across New Orleans. While Danny has his hands full protecting the city’s population and rescuing his fiancée, the FBI has other plans…
The action is tight, everything else is uninteresting
In the official FILMSTARTS review, “Twelve Rounds” received a modest 2 out of 5 possible stars. In her conclusion, our author Daniela Leistikow writes: “’Twelve Rounds’ is exciting at times and contains tightly staged action, but the breathtaking plot is poison for an actor as inexperienced as wrestling star John Cena.”
Those who enjoy spectacularly arranged explosions and sharp stunt choreography will also enjoy “Twelve Rounds” to some extent. Renny Harlin shows his craftsmanship in the action scenes and gives the plot, which is not as breathlessly constructed as it pretends to be, very impressive visual values.
Ultimately, the biggest problem with “Twelve Rounds” is John Cena, who has muscles but nothing else to offer: “John Cena is just not Jason Statham. Danny always seems sympathetic, but that’s the only emotion Cena’s performance can convey.” The review also states that Cena has “less emotion than a plastic action figure.”