Randy Orton is RKO'd by the terrible trailer for '12 Rounds: Reloaded'

If the WWE is about anything nowadays, it's branding. Vince McMahon has taken his daddy's little pro wrestling company and turned it into a multimedia sports entertainment behemoth. They practically own the realm of social networking through Twitter and Tout, and their weekly TV broadcasts continue to do strong ratings regardless of the competition. As WWE Studios has grown into a a legitimate force in Hollywood, they've built a number of recognizable action franchises, led by The Marine. But aiming to be the next major tentpole for the studio is 12 Rounds, which has now dropped a trailer for the sequel, 12 Rounds: Reloaded.

The first film starred WWE poster boy John Cena as a guy forced to endure twelve grueling tasks in order to save his wife from a criminal madman. The sequel is....pretty much exactly the same thing, only starring Randy Orton as a paramedic forced to run the same gauntlet. Directed by Roel Reine, who has done some solid work on the last two Death Race films, the action here is as generic as Orton's promos have been lately. Lots of explosions, guns, and shots of Orton looking angry or mildly irritated. Little truly stands out other than how stiff and uncomfortable Orton appears to be. It works for him in the ring as the always-dangerous and lethal "Viper", but as a leading man it just comes off incredibly flat. The film will likely perform well to WWE's core base largely due to Orton's popularity, but in general this looks shockingly awful.

Mad Men's Brian Markinson and Heartland's Cindy Busby co-star in 12 Rounds: Reloaded, which hits DVD/Blu-Ray on June 4th.