If you leave your brain in neutral, you should have a fairly enjoyable ride.
Comment
03/20/09
12 Rounds (2009)
28
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:64
Fresh:18
Rotten:46
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: Energetic but empty, 12 Rounds' preposterous plot hurtles along at a rapid pace, but can’t disguise the derivative script.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Mar 19, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $12,220,258
Synopsis: Finnish director Renny Harlin (CLIFFHANGER, DIE HARD 2) brings first-time screenwriter Daniel Kunka’s story to life in the fast-paced action film 12 ROUNDS. When New Orleans police officer Danny... [More]
Starring: John Cena, Aidan Gillen, Ashley Scott, Steve Harris
Director: Renny Harlin
Reviews for 12 Rounds
Top CriticThis big-budget action thriller excels at dishing out a plot that's a bit like a chess game on speed.
03/14/09
Top CriticWith its wonderful post-Katrina NOLA setting and the standard stunt spectacle as only Harlin can deliver, 12 Rounds is actually quite good. It's no masterpiece, but then again, few post-millennial adrenaline rushes have been.
07/04/09
It's Sudoku. With corpses!
03/27/09
There's nothing here we haven't seen before, the action is laid on thick and fast with plenty of explosions and car chases, making this Big Dumb Fun of the first order.
05/29/09
Director Renny Harlin keeps the wall-to-wall action hurtling along at such breakneck speed, that it's not hard to get swept up in the crash-and-explode craziness of it all.
03/30/09
Top CriticThis is a welcome throwback for audiences raised on ’90s action flicks — what they used to call “a pulse-pounding roller-coaster thrill-ride of a movie”.
05/29/09
Top CriticA very satisfying and well made action thriller that could only be improved if Arnold Schwarzenegger was the star.
07/09/09
Fun, witless and pretension-free, 12 Rounds is Die Hard meets Saw meets WWE: pure chest-thumping testosterone cinema, edited like a jackhammer and delivered at thrash-punk velocity.
05/29/09
12 Rounds has some great action scenes and intensity but is killed by a horribly written script and ending. I would still recommend a rental.
03/27/09
The result is hardly a masterpiece, but it's better than it ought to be.
03/27/09
While the plot is completely daft the film is also engagingly diverting.
05/29/09
Hugely entertaining, fast paced and enjoyably old fashioned action thriller that delivers more explosions, chase scenes and action sequences in one film than in the rest of the summer blockbusters put together.
05/28/09
Cena has the sort of likeable air that suggests he could just make it as an action movie type. However, it won't be thanks to this movie.
06/02/09
Preposterous, but undeniably entertaining, an action flick powered on enough pure adrenaline to forgive the gaping plot holes. Almost.
03/29/09
While 12 Rounds is well above average for an action movie, it's important not to get too carried away. This is, after all, a picture in which leading lady Ashley Scott is less appealing than her pet pug.
05/29/09
Those in the mood for something kinda dumb but lotsa fun look no further.
05/29/09
It's either one of the dumbest films in world history, or a sly work of ironic genius. Either way, it's damn entertaining.
05/28/09
Cena's stiff manner barely matters in 12 Rounds, in which he plays a cop rather than a fighter, because this is all about big explosions.
05/29/09
As brain-off Friday night entertainment, it almost suffices – but only because the quality of brain-off Friday night action has been lowered so significantly in recent years.
05/29/09
Latest News for 12 Rounds
May 31, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Renny Harlin
Finnish director Renny Harlin has one of the most schizophrenic CVs in movie-dom. He's directed some of the most beloved action films of the last 20 years, including Die Hard 2,... More...
March 30, 2009:
12 Rounds Star Wants Jericho Film Trilogy 
In a recent interview, 12 Rounds actress Ashley Scott chimes in on rumored plans to bring the cancelled CBS sci-fi show Jericho to the big screen. In short, she's in -- how's a... More...
March 26, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Monsters vs. Aliens Is A Blast
This week at the movies, we've got a war of the worlds (Monsters vs. Aliens, with voice work by Reese Witherspoon and Seth Rogan), a demonic abode (The Haunting in Connecticut,... More...
March 26, 2009:
Box Office Guru Preview: Monsters vs. Aliens Ready For Mighty Attack
Ginormica and her mutant pals look to seize control of the North American box office with the animated 3D adventure Monsters vs. Aliens which will try to overtake a group of... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
40 Best Films of the 2000s
Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Virtuoso Vistas of The Lovely Bones
Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.
Worst Hollywood Remakes of the Decade
Movieline gets bravely swept away with the recycled refuse of the 2000s.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 prize packs
We're giving away a bunch of stuff from the upcoming Squeakquel.
IGN RSS Feeds