WWE Studios keeps grinding out DTV sequels to their films, and for some reason, I keep watching them. This one has nothing to do with the last 12 Rounds movie, which makes sense since that one didn’t have anything to do with the first movie. Part 3 stars a wrestler named Dean Ambrose, who doesn’t exactly exude Hulk Hogan levels of charisma. Heck, he makes 12 Rounds 2’s Randy Orton look like an actual thespian in comparison.
Ambrose stars as a cop who is just coming back to work after his partner was killed under mysterious circumstances. Naturally, all the cops in the building suspect Ambrose, so they treat him like garbage. When Ambrose comes into possession of a flash drive belonging to a dirty cop (Roger Cross), it puts a target on his back. The felonious Five-O puts the police station on lockdown and declares open season on Ambrose. His trigger-happy cop cronies are only too eager to take Ambrose out. Severely outmanned and under gunned, our hero must use his wits to survive the night.
The 12 Rounds series is interesting in that the first two movies were rip-offs of Die Hard with a Vengeance as the hero had to go traipsing through the city diffusing bombs while the bad guy made him jump through all kinds of hoops. Part 3 is much more like the first Die Hard as it mostly takes place in one claustrophobic location. It’s almost a flip-flop of the Die Hard franchise formula as the films get smaller as they go along. In fact, there are no “rounds” the hero has to go through this time out, but the title does make sense because there’s a scene where Ambrose gratuitously says how many bullets are in his gun and… you guessed it… he’s got 12 rounds.
Which brings me to a short digression. Why do the 12 Rounds movies star wrestlers? Wouldn’t it make more sense if they starred boxers? I mean it’s called “12 ROUNDS” and not “BEST TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS”. Anyway…
Because of its smaller scale, inventive death scenes, and tight pacing, 12 Rounds 3 is easily the best one in the series. I can’t quite call it “good”, but it certainly got the job done. While there are a few too many unnecessary zooms during the shootouts, we do get a surprising exploding body scene, a funny Home Alone-inspired gag, and a genuinely great moment involving a taser gun. Plus, I admire any Die Hard clone that shows restraint when it comes to the obligatory ventilation shaft scene. I also enjoyed the fact that the hero can’t shoot straight to save his life, which at the very least is memorable.
Sure, casual viewers will probably give it a pass, but indiscriminate fans of WWE Studios’ fare are apt to enjoy it. If only the lead had gone to a wrestler (or boxer) with some actual screen presence, it might’ve even approached *** territory.
As an added bonus, there’s a completely gratuitous nude scene early on that helps to spice things up. This sequence also ups the WWE quotient as the rapper on the soundtrack namedrops “Ric Flair” in his song. Of course, by doing so, it only makes you wish The Nature Boy was in the movie instead of the bland Ambrose.
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