Director: Renny Harlin
Starring: John Cena, Aidan Gillen, Ashley Scott, Steve Harris, Michael Blake, Brian White
In Cinemas: 26th March 2009

Even on paper, 12 Rounds comes off like a ludicrous action-thriller film starring a WWE wrestler-turned-actor in a story that is about as interesting as a can of SPAM.

Known in the WWE ring as the “Doctor of Thuganomics”, John Cena is cast as New Orleans Detective Danny Fisher whose fiancée (Scott) is captured and held hostage by an arms dealer with a grudge.

The film opens with the accidental death of the girlfriend of Irish thief Miles Jackson (Gillen) after an attempted jewel heist and a high-speed chase that ends with the capture of Jackson by good cop Fisher. Exactly one year after the death of Jackson’s girlfriend, Fisher finds his fiancée has been kidnapped and held hostage by Jackson. To secure her safe return, Fisher must complete a series of challenges and near-impossible puzzles – 12 rounds, (unexplained boxing reference) to be exact.

For a film set in a post Hurricane Katrina context, this film is remarkably lacking in any political or social commentary. Depending on your point of view, this is either refreshing news or evidence of why you shouldn’t waste your time.

Heavy on stunts but light on plausible back story, humour, surprise or psychological depth, director Renny Harlin makes use of his “assets” by insisting on scenes of Cena running to show off his stripper-like build. Handheld camera images and jittery editing make 12 Rounds hard to watch and much more difficult to appreciate.

While the low straight-to-DVD budget does no favours for this woeful attempt at a Bourne-style thriller, ultimately it is Cena’s lack of talent that makes this film lose any semblance of quality.