I was pumped to see this new John Cena action flick even before I realized it was directed by Renny Harlin, the Finnish helmer behind Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger who is among my favorite auteurs of modern fireball extravaganzas. And though it’s a far cry from the spectacular big-budget heights of DH2, or even Cutthroat Island, it still makes for a relatively entertaining ride.

It’s basically Die Hard 3 set in New Orleans, with WWF star Cena playing a cop hightailing it around the Katrina-battered city performing various tasks for an Irish baddie (Aidan Gillen) so the guy, who blames Cena for the death of girlfriend, won’t kill Cena’s hottie of a wife (Ashley Scott).

While the film is less of a cartoon than Cena’s The Marine (which I actually enjoyed more), it still blows up cars and buildings and helicopters in sufficiently rousing fashion, zips along at a decent clip and earns points for both filming in New Orleans and figuring the city’s fragile condition into the bad guy’s ultimate plan.

The super-sized Cena still can’t act, but he more than convinces as an action hero, scaling down the sides of buildings and using those big guns of his to push boats in front of cars and pull fat men out of elevators. Not to mention getting defibrillated and shaking it off like it was a slap to the face. So it’s a good thing, I think, that Harlin and screenwriter Daniel Kunka don’t bother with character development.

But who cares, because Harlin serves up a couple of thrillingly staged sequences with loads of mandatory action-flick destruction. One features Cena barreling through the streets in a fire engine like a one-man demolition derby, smashing motorcycles and cars and inconveniently-situated tiki-hut restaurants while cringing and yelling “Sorry!”

The other scene, the film’s centerpiece, sees Cena trying to stop a runaway streetcar as it careens downhill, first by using a car in an attempt to slow it down, then by climbing out of the car onto the streetcar and finally by jumping out of the car and letting it crash into the local power station. Good stuff.

Such mayhem is more than enough to entertain me here, I suppose, though the herky-jerky camerawork, sometimes choppy editing, Cena’s lack of charm and an annoyingly self-satisfied villain all take their toll. Which could be why the film tanked at the box office, but at least Harlin can be thankful that its financial failure didn’t sink a studio. – [DVD]

Action/Thriller

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 06/30/09

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