Twelve Monkeys (12 Monkeys)

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Twelve Monkeys (12 Monkeys)

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Twelve Monkeys (12 Monkeys)

Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe, Christopher Plummer, David Morse

In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.

Id: 10906645

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Twelve Monkeys (12 Monkeys) Recent Reviews
  • AgentLexi2132
    November 25, 2009
    AgentLexi2132
    ''There's the television. It's all right there - all right there. Look, listen, kneel, pray. Commercials! We're not productive anymore. We don't make things anymore. It's all automated. What are we *for* then? We're consumers, Jim. Yeah. Okay, okay. Buy a lot of stuff, you're ...( read more)a good citizen. But if you don't buy a lot of stuff, if you don't, what are you then, I ask you? What? Mentally *ill*. Fact, Jim, fact - if you don't buy things - toilet paper, new cars, computerized yo-yos, electrically-operated sexual devices, stereo systems with brain-implanted headphones, screwdrivers with miniature built-in radar devices, voice-activated computers...''

    In a future world devastated by disease, a convict, James Cole is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of humanity on the planet.

    Bruce Willis: James Cole

    Madeleine Stowe: Kathryn Railly

    Brad Pitt: Jeffrey Goines

    Terry Gilliam's twisted tale of a virus/illness destroying all but a handful of people across the Planet, forcing them to move beneath the surface while one man is sent back in time to gather information about the causes of said illness.
    Haunting, mesmerizing, and highly stylized film that also boasts one of Bruce Willis' best performances ever.
    What sets 12 Monkeys apart from most time-travel/sci-fi films is that Bruce's character actually has to cope with the psychological effects of time-travel, that is, not knowing what reality is actually happening, the place that the time-traveler comes from or goes to is in question.
    Also, the film recognizes that things that have past cannot be altered and that the prevention of a cataclysmic event, in this case the release of said virus, cannot be stopped or changed. As Willis asserts "It's already happened," while he's in a mental hospital, the major dilemma the film trudges into is not a trite, overdone plot to save the world; instead it's Willis' inner struggle to simply survive himself. It's a fresh, innovative concept, and it works beautifully thanks to a well written script by Peoples and Gilliam's unique brand of dementia.
    Besides this, 12 Monkey's storytelling is totally non-linear and instead opts to distort and bend the way the story is told skillfully incorporating a bevy of different time sequences: flashbacks, dreams, memories, the present, the past, the future, and even a scene that is lifted out of Hitchcock's Vertigo. All serve to envelop the viewer into its disturbing cacophony of madness and futility.

    Visually, Terry Gilliam is a master of desolate umbrage and shadow rivaling Tim Burton in his strikingly despondent scenery and imagery. With cold, wide, and immersing cinematography, Gilliam plunges into the colourless surroundings and darkness of his characters.
    The scenes are often bathed in a strangely antiseptic, dead white and help serve as a contrast to the often veering-on-madness scenes and characters.

    Performance-wise, Brad Pitt steals most scenes, filling them with a loony, off-the-wall performance that deservedly earned him an Oscar nomination.
    As mentioned, Bruce Willis gives a mighty performance of his career, not reverting to his heroic cliches and cardboard hero roles and instead portraying Cole as a simple, poignant, tragic everyman. Equally good is Madeline Stowe as Willis' psychologist. She holds her own, injecting her character with both wild energy and strength as she collapses under the weight of what she comes to believe is a false religion.

    Gilliam's expert, overwhelming, and complex handling of what could have been a routine action/sci-fi film, makes 12 Monkeys a compelling vision of a nightmarish, futuristic landscape that has not been since Gilliam's Brazil. Its rich, well-thought out, intricate storyline along with bravura performances from the entire cast and its brooding, bleak cinematography make it a masterpiece of madness that spirals into one hell of a looped paradox.

    The future is history.
  • SirPant
    August 27, 2009
    SirPant
    A fantastic sci-fi mystery from Gilliam who can probably boast being a genre unto himself. Fine performances by a capable cast but it's Brad Pitt who really steals the show in one of his finest performances so far in his carrier.
  • organgrinder136
    August 13, 2009
    organgrinder136
    i still don't know what to make of 12 monkeys. i've watched it, had plenty of time to digest it, think it over... and all that's coming back to me is that it's weird. it's rewarding in the sense that brad pitt does some of his most interesting acting in it. i just don't understan...( read more)d all the high ratings it's got. to me it's got a bit of a fifth element feel about it which i didn't greatly admire either. i can only rate it as average coz i just don't get the appeal
  • Gx7
    May 1, 2009
    Gx7
    The 12 Monkeys, Revisited:

    The present world is derelict and uninhabitable, a deadly virus has wiped off half of mankind. Those that have not been infecteded are now forced to live underground.

    The story might lea    ...( read more)ve its viewers perplexed on the first watch, but its also what makes this movie so great, as you can debate so much of it with your friends.

    The acting and storyline is superb, I loved the way Brad Pitt played the bizarro-eccentric-lunatic character in this flick!

    Its definitely one great mystery, science-fiction, thriller movie. It has an almost perfect story line, a couple of intelectual punchlines and the film scores a very high rewatchability on my chart. This movie is a smart delectable treat, and the tandem of Willis and Pitt just makes this all the more a must have.

    Highly Recommended!
    The soundtrack itself only gets a 3 1/2 star rating though.

    Genre: Sci-fi, Mystery, Thriller
    Director: Terry Gilliam
    Rated R
  • QueenCityFilms
    March 15, 2009
    QueenCityFilms
    Great sci fi movie - Pitt puts on an acting clinic and Willis does a great job. Gilliam created a fantastic world - as he does in most of his films.
  • thevoiceofreason1
    December 15, 2009
    thevoiceofreason1
    Terry off his nut and at his very best
  • lizmatiz
    December 6, 2009
    lizmatiz
    this looks really cool. it's going on my must see list.
  • HotHair29
    December 6, 2009
    HotHair29
    well the ending was kinda lame but it was easily one of brad pitts absolute best performances
  • hummo7
    December 4, 2009
    hummo7
    slow, confusing, weird but yet interesting
  • ythelastman89
    November 25, 2009
    ythelastman89
    An extremely stylized film with a great plot and characters. Brad Pitt's performance was completely out of the ordinary and amazing. I loved the idea of a relapse in time, It was so tragic and fulfilling at the same time.
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