What Do The Critics Say?

"Cena is hardly new to acting. After all, he's been around the world wrestling circuit for a number of years, winning the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship three times. 12 Rounds is a glossily produced action thriller from Renny Harlin, a director who knows his way around an action movie set after delivering the likes of "Die Hard 2" and "Cliffhanger". John Cena is limited as an actor, but he does look comfortable enough here amidst the highly energised action." Andrew J McGlinn FILMINK "The action takes place over 12 set pieces: challenges set by the villain involving ticking bombs or runaway trains. Cinematically this is by-the-book multicam crash-and-burn spectacle that lacks originality but has spades of energy and a few truly suspenseful moments." Jason Di Rosso MOVIETIME "Instead of big-name action stars such as Bruce Willis or his mate Sylvester Stallone, this time Harlin has teamed John Cena in a story by first-time screenwriter Daniel Kunka. Cena is patrol officer Danny Fisher who happens to catch one of the world's most wanted criminals, an Irish terrorist Miles Jackson whose girlfriend is accidentally killed during the arrest." Rodney Chester COURIER MAIL QLD

"Whilst a good 60 per cent of the film is entirely implausible and utterly laughable, it is these sensational sequences that make "12 Rounds" such addictive viewing. Although 12 puzzles is probably a few too many for our hero to handle within the film’s 100 minutes, each task is, quite literally, more explosive than the last and the action moves at a cracking pace." TIMEOFF "Renny Harlin directs with the workman-like competence that served him well during the '90s, when he was making movies like "Die Hard 2" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight". He keeps things moving at a breakneck pace, never slowing down for unnecessary things." Morgan Derera OUR BRISBANE "Aimed to keep your pulse rate pounding without the need to take a single gasp for air, this big-budget action thriller excels at dishing out a plot that's a bit like a chess game on speed. With Renny Harlin at the helm, you know exactly what you're in for, and deliver he does with an onslaught of booming stunts and a likeable hero in the shape of wrestling superstar John Cena." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

The Inside Story For his legions of fans, bigger-than-life wrestling superstar Cena might be an unusual choice to play a 'regular' guy, in this case a New Orleans cop struggling to save his kidnapped girlfriend from a revenge-seeking criminal. But "12 Rounds" Danny Fisher’s relatability was a key attraction to Cena. "The whole everyman thing is easy, I’m just trying to be me," he said. "I like the fact that Danny struggles. He doesn’t come out of a phone booth and stop bullets. When audiences see "12 Rounds" and see Danny in action, I think every man, woman and child in the theater can go, You know what, that’s possible, and under the right circumstances, I can pull that off." "Danny likes being a cop but he’s not a super-cop," says producer Josh McLaughlin ("Talk to Me") of The Mark Gordon Company. "When he’s confronted by someone who threatens someone Danny loves, he will not stop until he solves the problem." WWE Studios president, Michael Lake notes that "12 Rounds", "plays to Cena’s physical gifts, as well as his natural acting ability. He’s a throwback to a different era of action films, when guys like McQueen and Stallone muscled their way through scenes. It made movies more believable, and more thrilling for the audience." Director Renny Harlin ("The Long Kiss Goodnight" & "Driven") echoes that sentiment: "The best action heroes are the ones the audience can relate to and cheer for, but still feel like these guys experience pain, have a sense of humor, and are real. There’s a hunger now for this kind reality-based, high-octane action movie." Cena’s involvement with "12 Rounds" began when the script was still very much a work in progress. McLaughlin got a call from Cena’s agent for a meet and greet. After a few minutes, they were chatting like old friends. McLaughlin recalls thinking, "Boy, this guy’s got something. On top of being really charismatic, he was Danny." Producer Mark Gordon ("The Matador" & "Hostage") was similarly impressed. "We saw in John the potential to become the next big action star. "12 Rounds" can really change his career and take him to the next level of international movie stardom." Earlier, McLaughlin and first-time screenwriter Daniel Kunka began the task of trying to reinvent the action film genre for today’s audiences. "We wondered how to make a movie that is that sort of contained, high-concept, idea," says McLaughlin. "The answer, we thought, was to make it as plausible as possible. Then, Daniel came up with the idea about a guy who has to keep doing these tasks that were both Herculean and real." "That was a hook that we thought audiences hadn’t seen before," adds Kunka. During this fateful meeting with McLaughlin, Kunka remembers "scribbling the words "12 Rounds" on a piece of paper," and the script took on a life of its own. "The script was so tight: it was all action," says Harlin. "Even the dialogue is spoken on the run. There’s never a moment’s rest." Working with talented new screenwriters was nothing new for producer Mark Gordon, who memorably collaborated with then unknown scripter Graham Yost on "Speed", which became a touchstone for contemporary action films. "I’m very comfortable with that process to get the best possible work from talented writers," says Gordon, whose many other credits include "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Saving Private Ryan". In true Hollywood storybook fashion, Kunka’s fortunes turned around overnight. "I was getting a sandwich and had about eight hundred dollars in my bank account, and was contemplating quitting the business," he remembers. "And then one day I got a call [from the producers]." They told him. "John Cena and WWE Studios want to make your movie." With Cena onboard and a green light from the studio, all that was needed was a director who could capture the frenetic nature of the script: a contemporary action auteur with an appetite for harrowing realism. Enter, veteran action director Renny Harlin, whose work on "Die Hard 2" and "Cliffhanger" has made him the avatar of adrenaline fueled films. Harlin’s deft sense of tempo, pace, and narrative momentum made him "the perfect director for the job" explains Lake. But it was a lively pitch meeting with Gordon, Lake and McLaughlin that sealed the deal. "Renny brought this energy to the script and to the movie. He wanted it to be just nonstop, have the pace continue," adds Lake. To Harlin, the film was an opportunity to reinvent the genre. "I’d like to think of "12 Rounds" as a movie that started a new style of action movies, the sort of 'Docu-Realism' commando style shooting of action movies, instead of super-polished, glossy, Hollywood-fantasy fare. We gave the film a real down and dirty feel, which better reflects the tenor of pop culture." For "12 Rounds" thrilling action sequences, Harlin wanted to break with the traditional style of filmmaking associated with his earlier films. "I wanted this film to have a visual style that complemented John’s athleticism. Instead of portraying him as a superhero, we’ve made him an everyman," 1992 Independent Spirit Award winner Harlin (Rambling Rose" 1991) explained. "I’ve thrown out all the usual tools: fancy dolly shots, cranes and CGI effects, that people expect from a contemporary action movie. Think of "12 Rounds" as a real story that’s really happening, and what we’ve just done is taken three documentary crews and thrown them out there and let them start chasing these actors and get the story on film." Remy also made other changes. "I told the actors, starting with John Cena, that this is not like the usual Hollywood way of making films, where you rehearse a scene, and then you mark with tape everybody’s steps on the ground, and where they deliver their lines, and how they turn this way and that way. He told them: "We might rehearse it, but we’re going to basically just shoot it, and you guys have freedom to do whatever you want to do. Just go, just live it, just make it real. And don’t worry about the camera, don’t worry about the light hitting you, or the microphone being in the right place. We’re going to get the shots as if we were in a combat zone." The guerilla-style filmmaking included mixing different media and cameras, including mini-DV cameras and even camera-phones. We employed different ways of telling the story visually, including video surveillance footage and aerial footage," says director of photography David Boyd who worked on fourty episodes of TV'S "Without A Trace" between 2003-2005. "We packed it all in to make "12 Rounds" relentless and gritty, from beginning to end." Harlin’s quest for authenticity was infectious on the set. Throughout production, Cena volunteered to do many of his own stunts, including racing cars, running the equivalent of several ten kilometre races, crashing a fire truck, and simulating a gunfight; the latter had him training with the New Orleans Police Department. "The training officer literally put him through the entire course that qualifies you for S.W.A.T," says stunt coordinator Steve Ritzi ("The Guardian" & "Body Of Lies"). Ritzi marvelled at Cena’s gun handling ability. "John scored such high marks that he could’ve joined the police force if he wanted to." But when stunt work meant confronting his phobias, Big John Cena had second thoughts. That phobia surfaced when it came to scene involving a tall building and a very thin wire. The storyline required he rappel one hundred feet down the side of building: wearing a harness and tethered only by a thin wire. 'I have a fear of heights: an undying, palm-sweaty fear," Cena sheepishly admitted. He went to director Renny Harlin and said: "This is an historic moment. It may not make front pages of anywhere, but you’re the last director, the last person for that matter, that will ever get me to do something like that again." Yes, the three time WWE champ who belted the living daylights out of his opponents came clean. "I was that scared," he revealed. In a very 'Danny-esque' moment, Cena overcame his concerns, literally swinging into action for the rappelling stunt, completing all the shots in one day. Ritzi remembers the big event. After the first day, he told Cena, "You’re done in the harness, you don’t have to hang on the side of the building anymore. I mean, he was out there a lot. He was very relieved." And that change, right? "Well, the first thing next day, Renny hands me the shot list. He wants to get John [for more shots] on the side of the building." What was his reaction? He informed the director, "I’ve already told John he doesn’t have to go back on the harness. I’m not going to be the one who has to tell him he has to get back on the harness." Renny told him, "That’s fine, I’ll tell him." To play the villainous Miles, the filmmakers cast Aidan Gillen. Trained on the stage, Gillen had recently received acclaim for his work in HBO’s "The Wire", as the duplicitous Mayor Thomas Carcetti. "Aidan feels smarter than us. When he plays Miles, he feels like someone who simply could sit in a room with you and tell you everything that’s wrong with you in five minutes," says McLaughlin. "And I think that’s what makes for a good villain, a guy who seems like he’s in control of the situation: even if a gun is pointed at his head." The fact that Cena is significantly taller and bigger than Gillen didn’t diminish Gillen’s/Miles’ power and sense of control. "I didn’t think about the disparity in size," says 2009 Irish Film and Television Award winner Gillen ("The Wire"). "Miles has his own kind of slick and lethal moves that challenge Danny in the film’s climax." Harlin notes: "Aidan plays Miles with a delicious attention to detail and with colorful nuances. He makes it a very powerful character. You could put John and Aidan next to each other and think John could kill him with one punch. But it’s not always about that in real life, and I think that difference [in height and size] between them really plays well in the film." Matching Gillen’s intensity is Danny’s strong willed girlfriend, Molly, portrayed by Ashley Scott who played Ashley in "S.W.A.T." A native of Charleston, S.C., but actually born in New Orleans, Scott had a starring role in the cult series "Jericho" and featured roles in the action films "Into the Blue" and "Walking Tall". In "12 Rounds", her character Molly is a hospital Medevac helicopter pilot, a job that figures prominently in the film’s explosive climax. Scott, who learned how to fly a helicopter for the film, notes that she also gave Molly a backstory. "I imagined she was trained in the Air Force. She had been on her own for a while, until she met Danny." Rounding out the starring cast are Steve Harris ("Quarantine") as Aiken, an FBI agent who has been trailing Miles for years and has a personal score to settle with him, and Brian White ("Stomp the Yard", TV'S "The Shield") portrays Danny’s partner, Hank. Originally set in Chicago, Lake used New Orleans. "You’ll see more of New Orleans in the picture than in any other movie that was shot here. The city is part of the fabric of the film. We see the Ninth Ward, the French Quarter, the Central Business District, and Algiers." Synopsis

New Orleans Patrolman Danny Fisher has stopped the FBI's most wanted from getting away with a multi-million dollar heist. But the arrest is soured when the thief’s girlfriend is accidentally killed by a vehicle while trying to escape. Twelve months later, Fisher has made Detective. Criminal mastermind Miles has escaped custody. He calls Danny, informing him that he wants his revenge. Danny must complete a series of near-impossible puzzles and tasks: 12 rounds, that will save the life of his fiancée. Each round, ranging from tests of intelligence to Sisyphean tasks of endurance, keeps Danny guessing at every treacherous turn, hurtling the determined cop through the city at a breakneck pace. Automobiles, streetcars, a ferryboat and his home are transformed into potential weapons of mass destruction. Danny realizes: one wrong move may take the match closer to a deadly conclusion.

The Verdict "Those who follow WWE will know who three time champion John Cena is. This is his second film. The first being "The Marine" which was shot here in Australia. He's tall. He's big. He can run. And at the right angle, he looks like a beefed up Matt Damon. He's no Matt Damon and he's certainly no Bruce Willis, so don't go into the theatre expecting to see a real action hero. Cena's role is that of a big, dumb cop who is out of his depth. He's running on adrenaline and good luck. I'm sure there will be a segment at every screening who will find "12 Rounds" very exciting, but I suspect there won't be a whole heap of cinemagoers giving the film rave reviews. Like me, I'm guessing many will be thinking that "12 Rounds" could have been a huge success: if only they'd had a big star in the lead role and, the film contained a lot more emotion during some of the defining scenes. It just doesn't give viewers the adrenaline spikes, well constructed and well cast films in this genre are capable of. That's because this is a WWE production using someone they hope their fans will pile through the door to see, thereby keeping the box-office ticking over. "12 Rounds" is a try-hard film that, given the right production team, could have been a stunning, edge of your seat experience. Will help ease the hunger pains till a real actioner comes along. Worth having a look at. 3 STARS". Who Plays Who?

John Cena Aidan Gillen Ashley Scott Steve Harris Brian White Gonzalo Menendez Taylor Cole Kyle Clements Peter Tuiasosopo Travis Davis Nick Gomez Brian Stanton Rosalind Rubin Billy Slaughter Kim Collins Lara Grice Wayne Ferrara Douglas Griffin Vincent Flood

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Det. Danny Fisher Miles Jackson Molly Porter Special Agent George Aiken Det. Hank Carver Special Agent Ray Santiago Erica Kessen Dave Fisher Willie Dumaine Anthony Deluso Samuel FBI Agent Gator FBI Agent Sheila Technician Phil the Plumber Cell Store Owner Battallion Commander Peter Gerard Det. Chuck Jansen

The Production Team

Director Written by Producers Original Music Cinematography Film Editor Casting Production Designer Set Decorator Costume Designer

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Renny Harlin Daniel Kunka Becki Cross Trujillo/Mark Gordon/Renny Harlin Mike Lake/Josh McLaughlin/Vince McMahon Trevor Rabin David Boyd Brian Berdan Elizabeth Coulon & John Papsidera Nicholas Lundy Leonard Spears Jill Newell

Run Time 108 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2009 - Twentieth Century Fox Films - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected ©1999-2009 - The Movie Pages & impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved