Clearly this movie called "12" is not for everyone: 2 1/2 hours of Russian men, middle-aged and up, stuck in one room, pontificating and pleading and challenging. Yes, that means subtitles, lots of them.

Still with me?

Congratulations. Because this re-imagining of "12 Angry Men," now at Regal Beach Boulevard, is imaginative and energetic, even with all those gray-faced Russian men. Their world-weary, seen-it-all, wry humor helps greatly.

Perhaps it's just me. But I began a DVD review copy of it one night about 10 p.m., a little groggy already, figuring I'd watch a few minutes, see what it was like. Well past midnight, I was still wide awake, waiting to see what would happen to those 12 grumpy Russians. Go figure.

You probably know the basic idea: Jurors gather in one room (a decrepit gymnasium here, as the courthouse is under construction) to decide the fate of a murder suspect (a young Chechen). It's expected to be a quick, unanimous decision, but one juror (Henry Fonda in Sidney Lumet's 1957 movie) says: Wait a minute. Let's not rush. Let's at least consider that he might just be innocent.

Much palavering ensues. It's pretty stagey, and pleasingly overwrought: Just about everyone gets a monologue, wrenching personal stories that work as windows into - and metaphors for - their modern country.

Director Nikita Mikhalkov (who saves himself a great role as the jury's enigmatic foreman) keeps "12" properly claustrophobic, but he busts out into repeated flashbacks, little snippets that inch us closer and closer to the truth.

3 stars. 2 hours, 33 minutes. PG-13. Some violent images and disturbing content.