It seems to me that in some cases, more and more movies seem alike with the same kind of plot that’s it’s worth both in order to compare which movie was better, along with the performances of the actors and actresses.
I didn’t care for the first version of 12 Rounds since much it was based on completing tasks that didn’t make the movie seem believable. Usually, I would say that I like WWE movies and that one wasn’t very good. Yet, the produces of WWE decided to make another version and I have to say that it was much better than the first one.
What made it better? Yes, the theme was the same. Wife gets kidnapped and here is a computer hacker who wants to make sure that Nick Malloy, an EMT, is to complete certain tasks in order to save his wife. He drives from place to place as instructed, having to deal with the threat of his wife getting killed if the task isn’t completed.
What I liked about this version was that the plot was character driven since another character was included in the movie, that being Tommy Weaver. His character takes over the movie since he is responsible for the death of the hacker’s wife. While Nick tried to save the hacker’s wife, both are dragged into his game since Tommy got his get out of jail card for free by his father, who is the Governor. From there, the game becomes intense as Weaver and Malloy have to work together so Weaver can save his father while Malloy saves his wife.
Switching over to the Getaway, here the plot is also based on Brent Magna, a former race car driver, whose wife is kidnapped by another criminal who tells him that he will kill his wife if he does not complete certain tasks. Later, Brent, who is played by Ethan Hawk, will be joined by another computer hacker, who is The Kid, played by Selena Gomez.
In this movie, Magna, who is a former race car driver, is tasked with leading the police around the the city while while John Voight, who plays the Voice, makes demands that he follow his orders or Magna’s wife will be killed. From there, the plot is nothing more than Hawk finding ways to stay ahead of the police even when there are times that it seems that he will get caught and his wife will not make it through the night.
At he end, of the day, one movie, 12 Rounds Reloaded, has a story to tell while The Getaway, has a story with a weak plot, which in this case is a robbery while the police are all over the city chasing Magna. The car crashes and case throughout the movie seem exciting but predictable, since Magna always has a way to elude the police.
You can say that in 12 Rounds Reloaded, the plot is more exciting since there is a story there about completing tasks with the constant threat that family members will be killed if the tasks aren’t completed. The police are involved in the chase as well, since they believe that Malloy and Weaver are causing havoc in the city and need to be stopped.
One could make the argument that The Getaway has some big stars but it doesn’t make the movie better than 12 Rounds Reloaded. Yes, Ethan Hawk does put on a better performance than Randy Orton but based on the plot, I have to say that 12 Rounds Reloaded is much better than The Getaway.
It’s hard to give these movies more than three stars when you have more believable psychological suspense thrillers from writers like Gregg Hurwitz, Andrew Gross, or Linwood Barclay, just to name a few.
Ron Hummer
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