Twelve Monkeys
Reviews
JPV852
Really good sci-fi thriller with wonderful performances by Bruce Willis, Madeline Stowe and Brad Pitt. Really well done by director Terry Gilliam that has great pacing through the two hour running time. **4.0/5**
Wuchak
**_A-man-comes-back-from-the-future Sci-Fi with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt_** In 2035 survivors are living underground after a viral outbreak has wiped out most of the populace. A prisoner (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to obtain the original virus so scientists can find a cure. Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer and David Morse are on hand in key roles. "12 Monkeys" (1996) has a huge reputation as a sci-fi thriller and is iconic of 90’s cinema. The man coming back from the future plot immediately brings to mind the first two Terminator flicks (from 1984 and 1991), but “12 Monkeys” pales by comparison. Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth seeing and is entertaining enough with Madeleine Stowe shining, but the story is hampered by a muddled tone of schizophrenia and the unrelenting grunginess of the visual aesthetic (which makes perfect sense for 2035, but not for 1990 and 1996 where most of the events take place). In short, the movie’s just not as compelling as it could be. People gush over Brad Pitt’s role and he is entertaining, but it’s a glaring rip-off of Dennis Hopper’s photojournalist in “Apocalypse Now” (1979), although I suppose you could see it as an homage. In any case, I could see through Pitt’s acting here and there whereas Hopper was the real deal, perhaps because he & crew were literally stuck in the sweltering jungle waiting around for days doing drugs or whatever while Coppola & Brando worked out the kinks in the script for the last act. If I'm in the mood for this kind of fare, the first three Terminator flicks are a superior option and even the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (2008). This one's decent, but overrated. The film runs 2 hours, 9 minutes, and was shot primarily in the Philadelphia & Baltimore areas. For instance, Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia was used for the rundown asylum. GRADE: B-
Filipe Manuel Neto
**An excellent sci-fi film that deserves our attention.** I didn't really know what to expect when this movie was on TV very recently, but I was really glued to the set until the end thanks to a truly absorbing story and a collection of great actors who do a great job. I don't know director Terry Gilliam very well, I've only seen one or two of his films so far (not counting this film), but I'm beginning to understand his aesthetic a bit. However, I recognize that surrealism, of which the director is adept, and the bizarre script can really make it difficult to understand the work. The film begins by immersing us in a profoundly dystopian world, where humanity was almost extinct by a pandemic. As the disease comes from an airborne virus that was deliberately released, the survivors moved into underground shelters. Technology, however, has evolved and allows the sending of chrononauts (that is, time travelers) to the past, in order to obtain pure samples of the virus, which can be used in the manufacture of a vaccine or medicine. This is how James Cole, a criminal, is chosen for time travel in exchange for his crimes being forgiven. His mission is not to alter the past by preventing the release of the virus, even if he seems to want to. The mission is to locate those responsible and pass on all the information to the future, in order to send another agent who will collect the samples. But he only knows that a radicalized environmentalist group, the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, was responsible. Sent by accident to 1990 (instead of 1996), he ends up in an insane asylum where he will befriend the manic Jeffrey Goines and endear Dr. Railly. The film deals with very complex themes, such as time travel, temporal paradoxes, the impossibility of changing the past, and even madness, the tenuous difference between reality and imagination, or between sanity and insanity. It has several advances and retreats in time and you have to be attentive, but what intrigues viewers the most is its ending, strangely sudden and confusing. I understood it quite well, and I think you just need to pay attention to the film to understand everything, but I'll leave a clue to help: the eyes of the protagonist and the eyes of the child that we see at the end of the film are exactly the same, and the what she sees coincides perfectly with a recurring dream that torments the protagonist, coming from the future. I say no more. I loved Brad Pitt's performance in this movie. The actor, very used to heartthrob roles where he can use and abuse his natural charm, is almost unrecognizable here. Of course, younger and less experienced, but just as impeccable. I don't know to what extent participating in this film had an influence on his learning as an actor, but I believe it was useful for Pitt. Bruce Willis is also an actor who deserves a positive mention for his work here. He really seems confused, and in many scenes he manages to give the character the feeling that she is abandoning herself to the course of events, fighting against it whenever she feels her mission is in danger. Madeleine Stowe's performance was not so happy: while being frankly positive, it is the least interesting and the most conventional. Technically, the film is flawless. Gilliam cleverly takes advantage of the sets and costumes and makes a truly strange, bizarre future, with those plastic protective suits and that ball in the interrogation scenes. It's an ugly world that we don't want to see one day. I especially liked the cinematography, and the way the director works the footage in a way that makes everything even more surreal and strange. For example, the scene on the staircase of Goines' father's mansion, which is as elegant and majestic as it is labyrinthine and dreamlike. In addition to the good effects, the film also has a very effective soundtrack.
CinemaSerf
Bruce Willis is at the height of his game here as his "Cole" character is sent back in time to find out just how the world came to suffer from a virus that all but wiped out humanity. He is promised early release from his extended prison sentence if he can glean enough information and get back alive to share it! Thing is, they put him back a bit too early and his harbingering of doom stuff merely serves to find him sectioned and under the care of scientist "Railly" (Madeleine Stowe) and friends with the off-his-trolley "Goines" (Brad Pitt) who might just have an use when it comes to fulfilling their quest. "Railly" doesn't exactly volunteer to help him out, but quickly she and "Cole" are onto a group called the "Army of the Twelve Monkeys" believing that they might hold some of the clues to this man-made misery in waiting. It's a Terry Gilliam film so the plot is never going to stick to just the one dimension. Accordingly, "Cole" starts to lose his grasp on reality - he hallucinates, hears voices and generally begins to wonder if he is going mad. Maybe it's the effects of time travel? Maybe something more sinister is afoot? Willis and Stowe are on good form but it's actually Pitt who plays the role of the bonkers "Goines" more memorably. You just know that his character has more to it than the vacillatingly unhinged man presented in the hospital, and as the adventure develops these three characters present us with a quickly paced story that mixes the future with the past whilst peppering the whole thing with questions about the morality of vivisection, scientific experimentation and unfettered technological advances. Why would anyone want to create a virus this potent and irreversible anyway? That's the question.
Movie Recommendation
Se7en1995-09-22Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.More...
The Fisher King1991-09-20Two troubled men face their terrible destinies and events of their past as they join together on a mission to find the Holy Grail and thus to save themselves.More...
Last Man Standing1996-09-20John Smith is a mysterious stranger who is drawn into a vicious war between two Prohibition-era gangs. In a dangerous game, he switches allegiances from one to another, offering his services to the highest bidder. As the death toll mounts, Smith takes the law into his own hands in a deadly race to stay alive.More...
Die Hard: With a Vengeance1995-05-19New York detective John McClane is back and kicking bad-guy butt in the third installment of this action-packed series, which finds him teaming with civilian Zeus Carver to prevent the loss of innocent lives. McClane thought he'd seen it all, until a genius named Simon engages McClane, his new "partner" -- and his beloved city -- in a deadly game that demands their concentration.More...
Interview with the Vampire1994-11-11A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.More...
12 Angry Men1957-04-10The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.More...
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas1998-05-22Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trash their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop, he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.More...
Groundhog Day1993-02-11A narcissistic TV weatherman, along with his attractive-but-distant producer, and his mawkish cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over.More...
Minority Report2002-06-20John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.More...
La Jetée1962-02-16A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.More...
Being John Malkovich1999-10-29One day at work, unsuccessful puppeteer Craig finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who enters its mad and controlling world of overtaking another human body.More...
Sin City2005-04-01Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home — Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge, others lust after redemption, and then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care.More...
Snatch2000-09-01Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.More...
Brazil1985-02-20Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.More...
Monty Python and the Holy Grail1975-04-03King Arthur, accompanied by his squire, recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot and Sir Galahad the Pure. On the way, Arthur battles the Black Knight who, despite having had all his limbs chopped off, insists he can still fight. They reach Camelot, but Arthur decides not to enter, as "it is a silly place".More...
2001: A Space Odyssey1968-04-02Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.More...
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus2009-10-01A travelling theatre company has more to it than meets the eye.More...
Falling Down1993-02-26An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.More...
Total Recall1990-06-01Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Recall, a company that manufactures memories. When his memory implant goes wrong, Doug can no longer be sure what is and isn't reality.More...
Man on Wire2008-08-01On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York's World Trade Center twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour of performing on the wire, 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan, he was arrested. This fun and spellbinding documentary chronicles Philippe Petit's "highest" achievement.More...
Similar Movies
Piégé
2014-01-15A soldier is stuck in a combat zone after stepping on a mine.Viking Wolf
2022-11-18After witnessing a grotesque murder at a party in her new town, a teenager starts having strange visions and bizarre desires.The Silence of the La...
1991-02-14Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.Terminator 2: Judgmen...
1991-07-03Set ten years after the events of the original, James Cameron’s classic sci-fi action flick tells the story of a second attempt to get rid of rebellion leader John Connor, this time targeting the boy himself. However, the rebellion has sent a reprogrammed terminator to protect Connor.Strange Days
1995-10-13Former policeman Lenny Nero has moved into a more lucrative trade: the illegal sale of virtual reality-like recordings that allow users to experience the emotions and past experiences of others. While they typically contain tawdry incidents, Nero is shocked when he receives one showing a murder.Terminator 3: Rise of...
2003-07-02It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised.Faster, Pussycat! Kil...
1965-08-06A trio of thrill-seeking go-go dancers kidnap a young girl and attempt to seduce an old rancher and his two sons out of their small fortune, but their scheme doesn't play out as intended.The Million Dollar Ho...
2000-02-09A federal agent searches for a potential killer among the bizarre residents of a dilapidated Los Angeles hotel.Insomnia
2002-05-24Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.Mystic River
2003-10-07The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.Snakes on a Plane
2006-08-17FBI agent Neville Flynn boards a flight from Honolulu, Hawaii to Los Angeles, escorting a key witness to testify against a mob boss at an upcoming trial. An on-board assassin releases a crate full of hundreds of deadly venomous snakes in an attempt to eliminate the witness. Flynn and a host of frightened passengers and crew must band together to survive the slithery threat.Jurassic Park III
2001-07-18In need of funds for research, Dr. Alan Grant accepts a large sum of money to accompany Paul and Amanda Kirby on an aerial tour of the infamous Isla Sorna. It isn't long before all hell breaks loose and the stranded wayfarers must fight for survival as a host of new -- and even more deadly -- dinosaurs try to make snacks of them.Eyes Wide Shut
1999-07-16After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.Alien
1979-05-25During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.Fresh
2022-03-03Frustrated by scrolling dating apps only to end up on lame, tedious dates, Noa takes a chance by giving her number to the awkwardly charming Steve after a produce-section meet-cute at the grocery store.Metropolis
1927-02-06In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.Eternal Sunshine of t...
2004-03-19Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.Amores Perros
2000-06-16A fatalistic car crash in Mexico city sets off a chain of events in the lives of three people: a supermodel, a young man wanting to run off with his sister-in-law, and a homeless man. Their lives are catapulted into unforeseen situations instigated by the seemingly inconsequential destiny of a dog.2001: A Space Odyssey...
1968-04-02Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.Brazil
1985-02-20Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.