While still something of a punchline in Hollywood circles, WWE Studios has managed to carve out a nice genre niche for themselves with cheapie action franchises featuring their biggest stars. A big part of the studio's resiliency has been casting just the right superstars in roles that best suit them, and when the film's have struggled it's usually been when those roles don't quite mesh. WWE posterboy John Cena helped helped launch the 12 Rounds series based on a fairly clever twist on the "beat the clock" scenario, and it was a part that suited his physical skills perfectly. After an underwhelming sequel led by Randy Orton the lead role now falls to Dean "The Lunatic Fringe" Ambrose, but he's hardly the only thing that's changed in 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown.
Leave it to WWE Studios to find new ways to dumb down their movies because the "12 rounds" in question this time have nothing to do with a villain's puzzling quest for vengeance against a courageous enemy. Instead, the "12 rounds" are quite literally about rounds left in a gun. So if you want to spend an entire movie counting the number of shots fired, this movie is for you. Ambrose plays Shaw, an easily-agitated cop just returned from forced vacation after the death of his partner. A loose cannon even before the incident, Shaw is looked down upon by his peers who blame him for what happened. One of those he has the greatest beef with is Burke (Roger Cross), a corrupt cop everyone thinks is the force's "golden boy". When Shaw acquires evidence proving Burke is dirty, Burke puts the entire headquarters on lockdown in an effort to kill him. To survive, Shaw will have to be resourceful since he's only got...wait for it....12 ROUNDS left in the chamber.
If Ambrose is completely unhinged on TV each week he's a little subdued for his first big screen role. That said, he's still somewhat unpredictable in his movements and speech in a way that makes him endlessly watchable, more so than the bland and monotone Orton was. Cross, a veteran actor fans of 24, Arrow, and The Strain will recognize immediately, ably powers through a generic bad guy role full of bad guy bluster. But at least this isn't just an endless string of gunfights as Shaw does have to use his wits to get by, and the screenwriters give their hero a few flashes of brilliance. That doesn't make up for uninspired direction by Stephen Reynolds, or the feeling of this as just another "single location" action flick. The 12 Rounds franchise never used its central idea to the fullest potential, but removing it completely wasn't the answer, either. Without it, there's little to recommend 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown on except that it may appease Ambrose's most rabid fans.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
