Twelve Monkeys 1995

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.

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.