12 Monkeys Reviews

12 Monkeys review

Posted : 1 year, 1 month ago on 6 April 2012 03:27

Great acting but WTF happened?? I didn't get it. Can someone pls explain to me what the plot of this movie was!?

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12 Monkeys review

Posted : 2 years ago on 24 April 2011 08:29

One of Terry Giliam's better films. Bruce Willis' acting isn't bad either. Maybe a turning pnt for Brad Pitt too.

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12 Monkeys review

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 2 March 2011 07:51


We are in 2035 and the human population has almost disappeared from a deadly virus that appeared in 1996, killing 5 billion people. The survivors live underground like insects, looking how they can come out again in the infected area. The solution is time travel: animals, prisoners are sent in the past in order to gather information about the outbreak, but their fate is unknown. The James Cole, a prisoner who is tortured by a strange dream / memory of his childhood when he saw a man killed before his eyes at an airport designated for travel in 1996 but mistakenly sent to 1990 which of course, go to psychopath comes to the madhouse and experienced people will probably change the future of the world and life. The psychiatrist Kathryn (Madeleine Stowe) and crazy Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt).



Gilliam would have to find a place in the pantheon of directors only because he manages to elicit an outstanding performance by Bruce Willis. All the "interpretation tick" of the actor disappeared under the direction of Gilliam and so Cole is a clone of John McLane with (KATARAMENO!) Bruce's smile but a genuine tragic figure, a man who has become a ball in time . At the same time a hyperactive, interpreted by Pitt (o Anybody up already with a cartoon booooing!) And a moderate from Stowe (which runs smoothly from hostage to an accomplice and love interest of Cole) are two different metronomes film. The Gilliam once again finds a character-prey (remember Pryce in Brazil) and for us, brings him to extremes. Accomplice is the script by David and Janet Peoples, who decide to keep it low tones of romance (the James and Kathryn are more refugees to the same destination rather than a classic pair) and also to increase the drama of Cole: How important are in fact acts? Allazei something? saves land, builds a better future, or are condemned to live the same continuous cycle? As we said in the recent The Jacket, because nobody knows exactly how does the time travel and what is the paradox, the writers actually have the freedom to do whatever they want by telling us "what I believe. When you travel in time to come correct. "So here, the script is a maze to play with timelines, leaving open the potential (however obvious it may be the penultimate scene in the airplane). However, because the temptation to stay in the theoretical, sci fi level is great to remember that the centerpiece of the movie is Cole, a man who turns the wheel like a hamster, and every bit simple, without understanding, changing wheel . Fate, free choice, these are items that must be deciphered by one of Cole and Gilliam, who like to hold said conductor Willis, does not allow him ever to be action hero, even when forced to resort to violence. The fans of Gilliam will see here typical examples camerawork of director, whether the 'wrong' shots in the mental hospital or the classic "Dazed" option (that I call dizzycam, if not someone else's copyright term). Above all, we see a genius director who answers this movie to anyone who called him unfit to address the majority of the public, "but I do not want."






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A very good movie

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 2 February 2011 04:09

This movie is probably Terry Gilliam's most successful feature, at least financially speaking. Fortunately, it happens to be a good movie as well. If I remember, i saw it twice when it came out and I thought the whole thing was just spellbinding. Like most of the movies dealing with time travel, many things don't make much sense but Gilliam does even try to rationalize what's going on whereas lesser movies would spend a terrible amount of time trying to convince you that the whole thing is actually making sense. Since then, I have also seen 'La Jetée', the short movie which inspired this flick and together, they are some awesome companion pieces. It is also a proof that a remake can be really interesting when treated properly. So, the directing was pretty impressice but the acting was really good too. Indeed, Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis both show that they have some range delivering some of their best performances. To conclude, I think it is a fascinating story, my favorite movie directed by Terry Gilliam, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Gilliam's work.

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Very complex film but typical Gilliam...

Posted : 3 years, 3 months ago on 31 January 2010 06:33

I was unsure of what to expect with 12 Monkeys. It was average because I thought the acting was awesome but the story was an absolute mess. I mean, the story was really interesting at the beginning but as it went on it got itself totally lost. I didn't even know what was going on because it was so complex. It seemed a really threatening film at the start but in middle and end, it went dull and it disappointed me.


Bruce Willis' performance was amazing! Bruce Willis was the only thing that kept me going with this film. James Cole is an extremely messed up and confused man who doesn't exactly know where he is and what he is doing. Madeleine Stowe was awesome as Dr. Kathryn Railly. She was Cole's hostage, then his accomplise and then started have deep feelings for him. Brad Pitt was awesome in this film. Just like The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, I am not used to see Brad play different kinds of characters than he usually plays. He was pretty creepy in this film.


Terry Gilliam has always directed either stupidly hilarious or bizarre films which he does have a talent for. I think he sort of lost it with this one because 12 Monkeys is absolutely mad. It is well directed but I don't think he should have directed it.


Overall, 12 Monkeys is well acted and well made but plot is so confusing. I find 12 Monkeys to be Bruce Willis' most powerful performance but not my favourite. Brad Pitt was awesome but I've seen him in better films with better performances. I have seen far better films than 12 Monkeys and I have seen far worst films too.

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The future is history.

Posted : 3 years, 5 months ago on 25 November 2009 12:47

''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 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.


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Am I the 13th primate?

Posted : 4 years, 6 months ago on 31 October 2008 07:33

This is one of the few exquisite films that will certainly leave your minds wondering and wandering. The actors in this are extraordinary and yes, the plot is super twisted and almost vague.

I will surely view this again to have answers to my lingering questions. :P

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12 Monkeys review

Posted : 5 years, 4 months ago on 8 January 2008 08:58

"Wiping out the human race? That's a great idea. That's great. But more of a long-term thing. I mean, first we have to focus on more immediate goals."

Brad Pitt's character, Jeffrey Goines, I sure won't forget. He's insane, delusional and psycho.. exactly what he is meant to be. This flick is not your average Bruce Willis movie, nor is it something that Terry Gilliam always comes up with. The movie itself is really strange, it's 'different' to any other movie I've seen. It's even complicated at times, this mystery/sci-fi/action film was interesting to watch.

Like I said, I've never really seen a film with a plot like this before. It's hard to explain everything that goes on in this film, but it's really about time. The past, the present, and the future. In this flick Bruce Willis's character, James Cole, explores all of these. Everything seems to link to a deadly virus that will be responsible for the deaths of most of the world's population, and James Cole must travel in time to find a cure and save the humans from extinction. Sounds a bit dull, and I admit there were some parts in this that didn't have my full attention. Most of the time though, I was wrapped in the ideas this film produces and the possibilities it shows. You can tell it's dated from the quality.. and what about the music? That really annoyed me.

So once again, the invincible Brice Willis played his part to perfection. He was a strange character for him to play, to me it seemed like he couldn't say more than one sentence at once. Sometimes James Cole seemed a bit dull, but for the most of the movie he was definitely an interesting character. Brad Pitt was incredible. This flick shows what an amazing actor he is, and how he was the perfect weird, crazy character. Madeleine Stowe was pretty mediocre, while the other actors were average.

Again, the best word I can find for this is 'interesting'. It is unusual, and some people won't like it as much as others. I though it was well above average, but these sci-fi movies aren't usually ones I enjoy. If you haven't already, see this for yourself.

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Not too Impressed

Posted : 6 years ago on 15 May 2007 05:57

Ok, so as usual Bruce Willis did a really good job at playing his part. I like the plot and it did have that mysterious kind of sci-fi feel but there was just something missing. The first thing I noticed is the crappy choice of music, which made the movie confuse you at times. The action sequences had some sort of goofy comedic soundtrack. Is this bad for the character or am I spouse to laugh? I think the movie could have been 10 times better with a more appropriate choice of music. It seems a lot of people really like this movie, but it just didnt do that much for me.

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