12 Rounds
(2009/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- Sound: B Extras: D Feature: D
John Cena
is back in a new heist thriller called 12
Rounds (2009) and if I was not a particularly big fan of The Marine, I thought this was
especially lame. You can read more about
The Marine at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4997/The+Marine+(2006/DVD-Video+++Blu
This
time, we have Cena’s detective out to stop the crime and avenge the death of
his girlfriend, but it never shows us anything we have not seen before, it
tired, formulaic, lame and not very well produced. One-time name action Director Rennie Harlin (Die Hard 2) is trying to recuperate
from disasters like Drive and a
second Exorcist prequel that was a
bigger waste than anything that could be said of the first one. Even The
Cleaner with Samuel L. Jackson did not work, but this is really bad. Harlin was never that good and is getting
worse.
As for Cena as an action hero, he might gain some kind of cult, but unless he
finds better material, he can hang it up.
This runs 108 minutes, but even uncut, 12 Rounds never cuts it.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 AVC @ 26 MBPS image is weak, noisy and does not cut it either, looking
bad despite being shot in Super 35mm film.
Director of Photography David Boyd, A.S.C., is from TV and not has
lensed some good shows (Firefly),
but makes the wrong choices here often.
The DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 mix is good but not great,
with a limited soundfield and limits that sound like an older digital
recording. Trevor Rabin’s score is one
of his weakest, sadly. Extras include a
Digital Copy DVD-ROM for PC and PC portable devices, two alternate endings
(neither work; both have optional commentaries), three making of featurettes,
two audio commentaries (unrated yet), viral videos and a gag reel.
- Nicholas Sheffo
