When New Orleans Police Detective Danny Fisher stops a brilliant thief from getting away with a multimillion-dollar heist, the thief's girlfriend is accidentally killed. After escaping from prison, the criminal mastermind enacts his revenge, taunting Danny with 12 rounds of near-impossible puzzles and tasks that he must somehow complete to save the life of the woman he loves.
12 Rounds is the unholy stepchild of Die Hard with a Vengeance and Speed, starring a man whose lack of range makes Steven Seagal seem nuanced by comparison.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
30 Mar 2009
rotten:
12 Rounds is an occasionally exciting but always empty action movie experience.
– Roger Moore,
Orlando Sentinel,
30 Mar 2009
rotten:
A graceless scrap between a Die Hard flick and the public-transportation mayhem of Speed.
– Drew Toal,
Time Out New York,
1 Apr 2009
rotten:
There's a decent little action movie somewhere inside '12 Rounds': a bit more complexity of character, a few more jokes and a hero who doesn't look like a two-by-four with a buzz cut might have gone a long way.
– Tom Huddlestone,
Time Out,
29 May 2009
rotten:
Heavy on stunts but light on plausibility, humor, surprise, visual ingenuity or psychological depth.