The most mainstream film Gilliam has probably made, but also one of his best. Whilst the central mystery of how a deadly virus is unleashed on the world is compelling, it's Bruce Willis that holds the most attention, and whilst the ending is telegraphed well before, it's the journey to that end that becomes the most important part of the film and Willis makes the audience care about his character's fate. One of the best time travel stories ever made!
Perhaps I had insane expectations going in, but I was rather disappointed and don't fully understand the hype for this movie. The concept was right up my alley; sent from the future to warn humanity of its upcoming extinction, but felt it was quite poorly executed and I was a bit bored at times watching it. The ending was a nice surprise and I loved seeing Brad Pitt executing his role but aside from that I wasn't overly impressed.
I know no one wants to read my thoughts on a 25-year-old film, but what a film to watch with all this C-19 around.
The film perfectly depicts time travel as well as cause and effect.
I like how the film leads you to believe Bruce Willis' character is insane. Also, Mr. Willis' work in this film demonstrates that he is more than just an action hero. And what a fantastic performance by Brad Pitt, who won his first Academy Award as a result of this film.
Germs? Uh-huh. In the eighteenth century, no such thing, nada, nothing. No one ever imagined such a thing. No sane person, anyway...Ah! Ah! Along comes this doctor, uh, uh, uh..Semmelweis..Semmelweis.. Semmelweis comes along. He's trying to convince people, well, other doctors mainly, that's there's these teeny tiny invisible bad things called germs that get into your body and make you sick. Ah? He's trying to get doctors to wash their hands. What is this guy? Crazy? Teeny, tiny, invisible? What do you call it? Uh-uh, germs? Huh? What? Now, cut to the 20th century. Last week, as a matter of fact, before I got dragged into this hellhole. I go in to order a burger in this fast food joint, and the guy drops it on the floor. Jim, he picks it up, he wipes it off, he hands it to me like it's all OK. "What about the germs?" I say. He says, "I don't believe in germs. Germs is just a plot they made up so they can sell you disinfectants and soaps." Now he's crazy, right? See? Ah! Ah! There's no right, there's no wrong, there's only popular opinion. You... you... you believe in germs, right?
What a good movie. I've seen this before, It was better than the first time around.
The beginning is promising and the ending is open and makes one think. Unfortunately the middle part is too weird for my taste and I find it not very believable (e.g. that James accidentally lands in the same psychiatry as the twelve monkeys leader does, that later on Dr. Railly just happens to recognizes the assistant with the virus at the airport or that James has the first WW bullet still in his leg in the Year 1996. Did they send him first to France in WW I and then directly to 1996 and if so, why is that?).
Madeleine Stowe in her best form. ♥
Maybe it was innovative for its time, but come 2013 the film seems dated and poorly paced while its "plot twists" are extremely obvious. I did a lot of eye-rolling at the love story too...I thought sci-fi films of the 20th century would convey that women aren't just emotional beings who fall for the strong & silent male protagonist. Well, apparently not.
It plays out like a William Burroughs’ novel, dystopian, dreamy, crude, but not as disjointed.
Strange time travel/apocalyptic plot with a number of twists and turns. The story was challenging and while it moved slowly it does sustain the viewer's interest. This is largely because the relationship between Madeline Stowe and Bruce Willis and their performances are really the best thing about this film.
Who watching this because of Covid19?
An absolutely brilliant movie. It doesn't try to be too much. The hero isn't some superhuman. He's flawed, and far from perfect. There's a lot going on, and it just all comes together so well. So tragically. So cleverly.
A mind bending movie. Brad Pitt in his prime!
I am not sure why I wanted to watch this again but I am glad I did. It's a movie you probably have to see more than once. I remember being put off by the style the first time and found it rather boring. I am still not a huge fan of the style but I love the story. Time traval paradox is always mind bogling if you wrap your mind around it
I can’t believe it took me this long to watch it. One of the best time travel movies ever made. And Bruce is absolutely phenomenal in it. Probably my favorite role for him so far. Loved, loved, loved it.
Gilliam's masterpiece of madness. 12 Monkeys is a darkly lavish spectacle of a film brimming with brilliance.
I like the part where you get to doubt ...
Still wanted a happy ending.. But it's okay, I guess you can't change the past, can you?
Well, at least he saved the future, even if he couldn't save himself.
That was fantastic experience..Not ur typical time travel movie....not quite sure it's a masterpiece but sure entertaining as hell...Brad pitt's acting was spot on!!.
The first movie that was pressed on DVD :)
Time goes on.
Oh, and yeah, great movie with a weird ending.
9/10
brad pitt going places here
pd: i fell in love with madeleine stowe
Not worth the hype. Only interesting thing about the movie is when the lead character was sent through the time not to change anything and just to observe it. Otherwise meh.
The past can not be changed, any attempt you make to change it ends up shaping it exactly what it was. This science fiction trope isn't new today. In 1995, it must have been exhilarating. Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys is the tale of time travel and the pandemic both. Having survived one just now, the protagonist's attempts hit home.
Bruce Willis is in some sort an underground prison. No one can survive above the surface due to a deadly pathogen which has almost wiped out the human race. The scientists have the technology to send someone back to find the cause of this pandemic and course correct this.
Despite the common tropes, the movie is enjoyable. You see how things are shaping up and how the pieces fit perfectly. It would have been interesting if James's backstory would have been revealed and tied to the actions of the past. There are quite a few unanswered questions and then an unnecessary cliffhanger at the end like the spinning totem of [[Inception]] makes the movie stay a bit longer in your mind.
Brad Pitt shines in his role as Jefferey. He had gone through special training to slip into the role. The ticks and mannerisms were tactfully acted out. Loved his part. After the end though I got a lot of Fight Club vibes from the character. It came in 1999, so I wonder about the mental state Brad Pitt must be to have done these roles.
Bruce was an established action star by then, So accepting this role was a bit odd. There is little action for him. He is hardly the saviour in the end and his character John Cole suffers through a lot without having much agency to control/change their fate. That's a very non-action hero-like image. I am not sure who I would have cast in the role if not for him.
In 2023, the movie is still an entertaining watch for the story and performances.
Man, they don't make smart science fiction movies like this anymore.
It’s a pretty cool movie with Terry Gilliam type art and visuals, but like all of his movies, it’s definitely not for the mainstream crowd.
It’s very trippy and eccentric, but nothing that’s too abstract or inaccessible for the average film viewer.
This is probably Terry Gilliam’s most plot driven work, and he succeeds very well in creating a compelling narrative with plenty of plot twists (some of which can be easily predicted if you’re familiar with the classic time travel tropes), memorable characters and some sharp subtext. Without spoiling too much, I’ll just say that the film was 25 years ahead of its time in many ways.
Brad Pitt plays proto Tyler Durden, he’s probably the biggest standout of the cast, although Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stone are also pretty great.
The music’s catchy and memorable, the visuals have a distinct style and the camerawork heightens a lot of the trippy nature of the film. Not all the shots have aged that well though, some of the lighting and compositions can look a bit dated compared to other films from around that time. There’s also some very noticeable ADR in it, as well as cartoony sound effects.
7.5/10
Interesting premise but the story was all over the place and did not find myself constantly engaged. Cliched romance, silly and comical mad scientists that invented time travel? Anyway it was all right.
What a ride.
Everything changes because of photography.
There are two films, one in which there is photography and one without it.
In one he is right and comes from the future, in the other he is a psychiatric patient.
I didn't know, until the confirmation.
2.4 points -> Cinematography (0-3)
1.6 points -> Acting and Characters (0-2)
2.4 points -> Plot (0-3)
0.7 points -> Music & Audio (0-1)
0.8 -> enjoyed the movie (0-1)
Aka. 7.9 points
Nothing spoils a Christmas like the Army of the 12 Monkeys. Presenting one of the most challenging and intriguing perspectives on time-travel, Twelve Monkeys tackles issues of time paradoxes, alternative time-lines, and predestination. Set in a dystopian future where humanity is forces to live underground, a group of scientists, using criminals as test subjects, sent James Cole back in time to collect information about the virus that wiped out most of humanity and made the surface uninhabitable, but Cole soon becomes confused about what’s real and what isn’t. Both Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe give strong performances, but it’s Brad Pitt’s performance that’s the most captivating (stealing every scene he’s in). And, Paul Buckmaster’s score does a great job at setting an eerie and foreboding tone. Twelve Monkeys is a bold film that’s dark and complex, yet is fully engaging, with a provocative story that challenges audiences (and continues to on repeated viewing).
Usually like time travel movies but this movie is designed to confuse you since it doesn't actually show any time travel machine or anything, he is just on past and future on next scene , no effects or anything so it makes you think that he is actually insane. This doesn't make it a great movie. There is better movies like Donnie Darko, coherence and primer imo. Maybe I will rewatch and change my opinion.
I'm pretty sure this still stands as my favorite Terry Gilliam movie. A classic, bleak mind-bender, it doesn't change the game, but it's endlessly entertaining, and leaves the door open to interpret it in different ways. It's Gilliam, Willis and Pitt at the top of their games.
The tv series is a 100 times better!
2 hours just for this? Am I the only one who thinks this movie is really bad?
Just Wow! Bruce did great in this one but it was Brand Pit who attract our attention in his best perfomance of this carrer.Well made plot,great perfomances and blow mind in normal lines..8,1/10
The character aren't established very well, and Brad Pitt was annoying. Bruce Willis is meh. A lot of dialogue treads water or rants. The plot wasn't engaging or interesting. I didn't even like the way the sets looked. It's supposed to be atmospheric at times, but it contradicts itself visually and becomes sterile. The dark isn't dark enough, and the grimey look is lit with bright spots that cleans up the grime and makes it fluffy. Randon jaunty angles to be arty... Even the background music didn't fit. It didn't say anything interesting about the society we live in. Pitt's character has an early rant about materialism and it was klutzy. It was like watching Russel Howard. I didn't see what the purpose was of this movie as a whole. It's not complex, it just touches on ideas that should be. it's redundant . Background noise, the movie.
One of the best films of all time. Willis is at his best here. Totally engrossing. I think I have spent 0.00193403% of my life watching this film
For me this is one of the top3 movies of the 90s, a true masterpiece
i prefer something different about the ending.well the storyline has good written.
I find myself needing to convince a certain category of film watchers that Bruce Willis is more than an action protagonist mold-fitter, which is difficult to accomplish when the mere name "Bruce Willis" conjures the mask of John McClane. 12 Monkeys is the movie I turn to make an example. The film itself, from beginning to end, is a roller-coaster ride through a trinity of vertiginous genre shifts. It is post-apocalyptic, but also dystopian science fiction with time travel, and yet still it structurally mimics a modern-setting detective film. And Willis's performance is similarly fractured, with him playing a role that has you questioning just what who he is until, effectively, the last act of the film. The anchor to both of these arcs is, of course, madness. Willis's detachment from reality itself locks the film in, and without such a solid performance it would have been nonsensical and trite. Brad Pitt's depiction of insanity is more extreme, and yet equally compelling (And defies Pitt's typecast as completely as Willis's role defies his). 12 Monkeys is a journey through the deepest pits of madness, and back again, and places alongside films such as The Machinist in its accomplishment in such a difficult genre.
One of the best movies i've seen.
Only time travel movie I've ever seen where I can't find a paradox. I'm sure there are some, but great movie none the less.
A really good movie about time travel
Shout by indeed2015VIP BlockedParent2014-05-26T13:26:10Z
i'm not crazy..... he says right after eating a spider