enviousdominous
Behold my diction
I feel that I should explain first off why I put this topic in the General Wrestling Discussion section. This is meant to be addressed by fans of pro-wrestling, not by fans of film. In my usual meanderings through the many pro-wrestling forums on the internet I've found that very few pro-wrestling fans have actually watched any of the offerings of WWE Films (save for See No Evil for some odd reason). Of these individuals who haven't actually seen a movie bearing the "WWE Films" logo, they generally seem to accept that they all suck. This seems unfair, so this is going to be a thread where a self affirmed John Cena hater suggests that you pay four bucks and watch some of his films on Youtube and the reasons why you won't regret it.
Short story short, I was searching for 12 Years a Slave on Youtube (great movie, highly recommended) and 12 rounds came up in the search results. The fact that I could so easily just click to purchase and watch the movie stuck in my head for a while and I finally gave in a couple hours ago.
This was actually a great movie. One of the more successful John Cena movies, but still one that apparently a lot of pro-wrestling fans are phobic about experiencing. For those who haven't seen it, here are some reasons why you should without ruining any of the plot. Yes, there is a compelling plot in this movie.
John Cena doesn't play a badass in this movie. He plays an everyman who just happens to be built like a Mr. Universe contestant. He doesn't stomp through his challenges with a smirk and mockingly brush off his shoulder. John plays a guy named Danny Fisher; Danny Fisher struggles through his moments of insane bravery in much the same way you might expect Indiana Jones to do it. He's a man with a purpose, but he occasionally has to bow to impossible odds.
Does Danny Fisher occasionally survive chaotic situations through extremely implausible solutions? Yes, it's an action movie. The main criticism I've seen from the more learned critics of this movie is that it closely resembles Die Hard With a Vengeance. For me, that's the "Simpson's did it!" fallacy. Knowing how the third Die Hard movie played out won't ruin the sequence of events that occurs in 12 Rounds. Most of you will likely have to check your brain at the door to enjoy this movie, I highly recommend doing that for every movie you're about to see. It doesn't impress anybody if you went to film school and can call out the mistakes in editing, just let the movie tell you a story and judge it after it ends.
John Cena is an amusing guy, even if you hate his guts. While he plays a character named Danny Fisher, some traits of the pro-wrestling character do come out. I personally was not annoyed when this happened, I found myself laughing out loud. Everyone loves a good laugh now and then. Danny Fisher is a guy who has to fight through the follies of the fate of a guy who despite his virtuous deeds has to occasionally bite the bullet and accept tragedies that he vicariously caused, it's kind of like one of John's haters took things too far and went full Joker on him. It worked for me.
Danny Fisher isn't a character that you have to be in love with to enjoy the film. Things happen to Danny Fisher, thus you're not expected to feel much for him per se. Some movies expect you to develop such a strong kinship with the main character that you feel blessed when they have a long drawn out scene depicting their emotional state. There are scenes relating to this concept, that are thankfully not drawn out. Danny Fisher reacts to unfortunate circumstances that are the basis of this film, he's almost secondary to them. The film sells itself on the occurrences that manipulate Danny Fisher, so if you hate John Cena with a passion it's not too difficult to disconnect the association between John Cena and Danny Fisher. There's plenty of crashing cars and explosions to keep your attention span wired without completely abandoning any shred of plausibility.
Are there cheesy one liners? Yes, it's an action film. Bruce Willis said "Welcome to the party pal!" to a cop who likely heard "Wahwan Harty-al!" if he heard anything at all. Arnold Schwarzenegger said "I'll be back" in his best interpretation of a robot from the future with an inexplicable Austrian accent. The dialogue in this movie isn't going to rival Schindler's List; for the record, I honestly only counted one cheesy line out of Danny Fisher.
The supporting characters in this movie, especially the main villain, are more neat than cool. I found that it helped to imagine that an incognito Joker was taking the place of Miles Jackson. Either way, they sure as Hell make Danny Fisher a little easier to empathize with in that he's the only character that actually managed to inspire my empathy. I'm not trying to mock the lack of decent development for the other characters in the movie, I'm just saying that John Cena definitely doesn't ruin this movie with his performance.
The plot of this movie is great. If you want to be a dick and imagine how this situation wouldn't really happen and how that situation is dumb, then you must really not enjoy watching movies in general. Just sit down and watch the movie with an open mind. Without spoiling too much; the tasks that Danny Fisher must complete to save his kidnapped girlfriend have a greater purpose that's revealed near the end. It's not just a fun way for Cena marks to see their favorite performer be in a random movie, they actually put thought into the plot of this movie. They cared about making a good movie, and I'm a John Cena hater who thinks that everyone involved to include John Cena succeeded in making a great movie. If the plot works for me, I can stomach lackluster performances by the supporting cast.
I want people who have actually seen this to comment on their synopsis, I also want people to discuss why they don't want to put away an hour and fourty minutes to sit through a WWE Films offering.
Also, I plan on watching The Chaperone and giving that a thread after this one peters out.
Short story short, I was searching for 12 Years a Slave on Youtube (great movie, highly recommended) and 12 rounds came up in the search results. The fact that I could so easily just click to purchase and watch the movie stuck in my head for a while and I finally gave in a couple hours ago.
This was actually a great movie. One of the more successful John Cena movies, but still one that apparently a lot of pro-wrestling fans are phobic about experiencing. For those who haven't seen it, here are some reasons why you should without ruining any of the plot. Yes, there is a compelling plot in this movie.
John Cena doesn't play a badass in this movie. He plays an everyman who just happens to be built like a Mr. Universe contestant. He doesn't stomp through his challenges with a smirk and mockingly brush off his shoulder. John plays a guy named Danny Fisher; Danny Fisher struggles through his moments of insane bravery in much the same way you might expect Indiana Jones to do it. He's a man with a purpose, but he occasionally has to bow to impossible odds.
Does Danny Fisher occasionally survive chaotic situations through extremely implausible solutions? Yes, it's an action movie. The main criticism I've seen from the more learned critics of this movie is that it closely resembles Die Hard With a Vengeance. For me, that's the "Simpson's did it!" fallacy. Knowing how the third Die Hard movie played out won't ruin the sequence of events that occurs in 12 Rounds. Most of you will likely have to check your brain at the door to enjoy this movie, I highly recommend doing that for every movie you're about to see. It doesn't impress anybody if you went to film school and can call out the mistakes in editing, just let the movie tell you a story and judge it after it ends.
John Cena is an amusing guy, even if you hate his guts. While he plays a character named Danny Fisher, some traits of the pro-wrestling character do come out. I personally was not annoyed when this happened, I found myself laughing out loud. Everyone loves a good laugh now and then. Danny Fisher is a guy who has to fight through the follies of the fate of a guy who despite his virtuous deeds has to occasionally bite the bullet and accept tragedies that he vicariously caused, it's kind of like one of John's haters took things too far and went full Joker on him. It worked for me.
Danny Fisher isn't a character that you have to be in love with to enjoy the film. Things happen to Danny Fisher, thus you're not expected to feel much for him per se. Some movies expect you to develop such a strong kinship with the main character that you feel blessed when they have a long drawn out scene depicting their emotional state. There are scenes relating to this concept, that are thankfully not drawn out. Danny Fisher reacts to unfortunate circumstances that are the basis of this film, he's almost secondary to them. The film sells itself on the occurrences that manipulate Danny Fisher, so if you hate John Cena with a passion it's not too difficult to disconnect the association between John Cena and Danny Fisher. There's plenty of crashing cars and explosions to keep your attention span wired without completely abandoning any shred of plausibility.
Are there cheesy one liners? Yes, it's an action film. Bruce Willis said "Welcome to the party pal!" to a cop who likely heard "Wahwan Harty-al!" if he heard anything at all. Arnold Schwarzenegger said "I'll be back" in his best interpretation of a robot from the future with an inexplicable Austrian accent. The dialogue in this movie isn't going to rival Schindler's List; for the record, I honestly only counted one cheesy line out of Danny Fisher.
The supporting characters in this movie, especially the main villain, are more neat than cool. I found that it helped to imagine that an incognito Joker was taking the place of Miles Jackson. Either way, they sure as Hell make Danny Fisher a little easier to empathize with in that he's the only character that actually managed to inspire my empathy. I'm not trying to mock the lack of decent development for the other characters in the movie, I'm just saying that John Cena definitely doesn't ruin this movie with his performance.
The plot of this movie is great. If you want to be a dick and imagine how this situation wouldn't really happen and how that situation is dumb, then you must really not enjoy watching movies in general. Just sit down and watch the movie with an open mind. Without spoiling too much; the tasks that Danny Fisher must complete to save his kidnapped girlfriend have a greater purpose that's revealed near the end. It's not just a fun way for Cena marks to see their favorite performer be in a random movie, they actually put thought into the plot of this movie. They cared about making a good movie, and I'm a John Cena hater who thinks that everyone involved to include John Cena succeeded in making a great movie. If the plot works for me, I can stomach lackluster performances by the supporting cast.
I want people who have actually seen this to comment on their synopsis, I also want people to discuss why they don't want to put away an hour and fourty minutes to sit through a WWE Films offering.
Also, I plan on watching The Chaperone and giving that a thread after this one peters out.
