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Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, David Morse ... see more see more... , Jon Seda , Frank Gorshin , Joseph Melito , Bob Adrian , Stephen Bridgewater , Michael Chance , Annie Golden , Chuck Jeffreys , Nell Johnson , Simon Jones , Joe McKenna , Robert O'Neill , Fred Strother , Jeff Tanner , Kevin Thigpen , Carolyn Walker , Rick Warner , Rozwill Young , Bill Raymond , Bruce Kirkpatrick , Ernest Abuba , Lee Golden , Lisa Gay Hamilton , Irma St. Paule , Jack Dougherty , Christopher Meloni , Joey Perillo , Matt Ross , Aaron Michael Lacey , Jamie N. Frey

An intense film about time travel, this sci-fi entry was directed by Terry Gilliam, a member of the comedy troupe Monty Python. The film stars Bruce Willis as James Cole, a prisoner of the state in th... read more read more...e year 2035 who can earn parole if he agrees to travel back in time and thwart a devastating plague. The virus has wiped out most of the Earth's population and the remainder live underground because the air is poisonous. Returning to the year 1990, six years before the start of the plague, Cole is soon imprisoned in a psychiatric facility because his warnings sound like mad ravings. There he meets a scientist named Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), the mad son of an eminent virologist (Christopher Plummer). Cole is returned by the authorities to the year 2035, and finally ends up at his intended destination in 1996. He kidnaps Dr. Railly in order to enlist her help in his quest. Cole discovers graffiti by an apparent animal rights group called the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, but as he delves into the mystery, he hears voices, loses his bearings, and doubts his own sanity. He must figure out if Goines, who seems to be a raving lunatic, holds the key to the puzzle. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

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84% liked it

350,227 ratings

Critics

88% liked it

56 critics

R, 2 hr. 10 min.

Directed by: Terry Gilliam

Release Date: December 27, 1995

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DVD Release Date: March 31, 1998

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Stats: 18,451 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (18,451)

  • brooklynspo
    July 28, 2007
    brooklynspo
    An overwrought, messy, and confusing sci-fi with a silly Hitchcock nod at the end.
    Terry Gilliam has one of the world's great fertile imaginations but I find that he returns to the same thematic and stylistic material again and again. 12 Monkeys is where I simply had enough o... read moref his cartoony mad holy quest time-travel grungy dystopia vision.

    You know what this movie reminds me of ? That cheesy no-budget MTV video by the Police for Synchronicty II where Sting is wearing a "futuristic" costume inexplicably festooned in ribbons. "Oh no! The post-apocalyptic future will be windy and covered in torn fabric!"

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UlSK4WVZ9A

    Same deal - stick a fork in 'em, they're done.
  • c0up
    January 1, 2012
    c0up
    12 Monkeys. Bleak, dystopian time-travel sci-fi done right.

    Time travel and paradoxes. Hollywood finds this impossible to do well, and time and time again, I've hated how this school of time travel has been subscribed to by TV shows and films, but I loved the way 12 Monkeys appr... read moreoached it.

    12 Monkeys was pretty clear with its time travel rules and what I'd classify as an unhappy [happy for me] ending. Cole gets a second chance, seeks a new life filled with hope and happiness, dies. Boom! Its ending however, leaves some room to be discussed.

    Are the sinister-seemingly incompetent at times-scientists of the future wanting nothing to change so they remain in their position of power, sending Cole on a hunt to simply fulfill his fate, dying at the airport? I say sinister, because, why else would they not try and save the world's population in the first place? Purely to avoid pardoxes? Then you hear madam scientist [Jones] in conversation with the assistant on the plane, and she seems quite happy with a cleaning of the slate.

    "It's obscene. All the violence, all the lunacy. Shootings even at airports now. You might say that we're the next endangered species. Human beings.

    I think you're right, ma'am. I think you've hit the nail on the head.

    Jones is my name. I'm in insurance."

    Even the false promise of Josà (C) and giving his gun to help Cole kill the assistant is what more than likely leads to the guards seeing Cole as a threat and killing him.

    Ok, so Cole dies, but at least he died so the scientists can obtain a cure to eventually save humanity, right? The scientist is on board the plane with the assistant, and can obtain a sample to take back to the future and humanity can be saved. That's, something!

    Then I read this interpretation, which is even darker...

    "So the second interpretation of the final line -- "I'm in insurance" -- is that she is there to ensure that Cole fails and the virus is spread. After all, they are in charge in the future, and the virus put them there. If they come up with a vaccine, their power is threatened. So why not send people on wild goose chases to pretend they're working on something and use it as a way to eliminate those who cause trouble (as Cole had done)?"

    Either way, this doesn't end in sunshine and rainbows.

    Bruce Willis put forward a fine performance as a man whose mind is all over the place, but, Brad Pitt, you crazy kid, you! Amidst the bleakness and despair, an honourable mention has to go out to Pitt's Jeffrey Goines. A treat to watch, playing a psychotic, zany mental patient and resident red herring.

    This is my first time seeing it, and even early on, I couldn't help but make comparisons to Duncan Jones' Source Code. I was disappointed with Source Code, and felt it left its smarts to tick more Hollywood blockbuster boxes, and now, doubly so, seeing the similarities and how uninspired it was viewed against 12 Monkeys.

    [text from http://blog.c0up.com/12-monkeys-spoilers-duh]
  • fb1664868775
    October 27, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Gilliam's darkest look at the future.
  • danperry17
    September 7, 2011
    danperry17
    I'm still not 100 per cent sure that I knew what was going on during most of this movie. And yet, it was fairly original, and kind of trippy, and rather well acted, and suspenseful... just a cool flick. Part of two interesting mid-90s "out there" trifectas, for both Pitt (12 Monk... read moreeys-Se7en-Fight Club) and Willis (12 Monkeys-Fifth Element-Sixth Sense), this is a movie to see, and to see again, as I plan to do soon. Wacky stuff, really enjoyed it.
  • stevenecarrier
    August 15, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    There is so much going on in Terry Gilliam's "12 Monkeys." From a story standpoint, the narrative is sprawling and complex. From a visual standpoint the film has an incredible amount of detail. From an emotional standpoint the performances are committed and vivid. All of this add... read mores up to an energetic and chaotic experience. Thankfully Gilliam has a firm hand over the screenplay, making "12 Monkeys" an ultimately rewarding experience. The major complaint with the film is that, since the viewer is always being bombarded with new concepts, images and wacky characters, the film feels a lot longer than it is. "12 Monkeys" can be exhausting, but like I said, the ending is certainly worth it. If the film didn't end so strongly it might not have been worth it. Aside from an uncomfortably obvious Hitchcock reference, the film ends on a resonant, metaphysical note. The film also works as well as it does due to the trio of central performances. Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt deliver their characters seriously. They are anxious, crazy people, but you always believe them. This is no easy feat. They somehow find the perfect balance of hyper and real.
  • bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb1
    August 10, 2011
    bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb1
    What a great movie. Very entertaining and smart. I really enjoyed this movie.

    Grade: A-
  • sergioogarcia
    June 26, 2011
    sergioogarcia
    Shame on me. I haven't seen Brasil but I have heard it's a fantastic scifi movie. But while I do my homework, this is to me the best Terry Gilliam's movie I've ever seen. Brad Pitt's acting is fantastic. The story of an unknown apocalypsis already took place and therefore James C... read moreole has been sent to the past to help the scientists in the future to learn what a hell happened.
  • ironclad1609
    June 20, 2011
    ironclad1609
    Terry Gilliam paints a pretty pessimistic picture of the future, where the few survivors or a worldwide pandemic dwell underground. At least they managed to find the means to time travel, not without trial and error. Bruce Willis is sent back to investigate the cause of the virus... read more. After many hero roles, this was a rather unusual one, with his drooling and spider-eating. The plot is really smart, full of false leads and twist. The ending is pretty sobering but leaves enough space for interpretations. The production design is disturbing, as always with Gilliam. Still, the cinematography offers several unforgettable shots, especially of the animals taking over Philadelphia. A dark, exciting emotional rollercoaster ride.
  • ajv2688
    June 6, 2011
    ajv2688
    From the creators of Brazil, comes another great sci-fi thriller. It involves time travel, politics, and memory. All the best sci-fi themes. Plus, it's exciting and suspenseful. I highly recommend this movie to sci-fi fans.
  • garyX
    June 3, 2011
    garyX
    Yet another inventive fantasy from Terry Gilliam, 12 Monkeys is the story of a prisoner in the future who volunteers to go back in time and gather information on a plague that wiped out the human race originating in modern day Philadelphia. Brad Pitt's idea of insanity seems to b... read moree to channel Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now after 3 gallons of espresso, but Bruce Willis gives easily one of his best performances as the man out of time, tortured by the burden of the knowledge of the deaths of 5 billion people he seems completely unable to prevent and fearing for his sanity. Madeleine Stowe displays her usual appealing combination of beauty and vulnerability and the future scenes show off some more excellent production design born of Gilliam's fantastic imagination. The story penned by one of the co-writers of Blade Runner is an intriguing time paradox based on short film La Jetee and although it lacks much of the ex-Python's trademark satirical humour, it still ranks amongst his best.

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
May 27, 2011
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

While all of Gilliam's movies are worth seeing, there's a fair amount of his designer grimness here mixed in with the cabaret comedy. Full Review

Variety Staff
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

Neither as visually compelling as Brazil nor as emotionally gripping as The Fisher King. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
August 12, 2005
Emanuel Levy, Variety

Dark and somber like Blade Runner, this sci-fi is a spectacular mess, a convoluted film with too many ideas for its own good, blending (among other things) the virus thriller with the post-apocalyptic... Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

There's always overripe method to his madness, but in the new 12 Monkeys Mr. Gilliam's methods are uncommonly wrenching and strong. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Bruce Willis, in an eruptive performance of startling emotional intensity, stars as Cole, a prisoner tagged for an experiment that may get him killed.

Kenneth Turan
February 13, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Mystifying, intriguing, even infuriating, it shows what happens when an unconventional talent meets straightforward material. Full Review

Desson Thomson
February 13, 2001
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Willis and Pitts's performances, Gilliam's atmospherics and an exhilarating momentum easily outweigh such trifling flaws.

John Hartl
January 1, 2000
John Hartl, Film.com

In some ways, 12 Monkeys is the end-of-the-world thriller that Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days wanted to be.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

As an entertainment, it appeals more to the mind than to the senses. Full Review

Scott Rosenberg
January 1, 2000
Scott Rosenberg, Salon.com

What's remarkable about 12 Monkeys is that, despite its decade-hopping abandon, the film makes a chilling kind of narrative sense. Full Review

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  • Jeff Bridges was Terry Gilliam's first choice for the lead role that eventually went to Bruce Willis.
  • The future is history.
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Twelve Monkeys (12 Monkeys) Trivia

  • This is a quote from which film -"Well, here's my theory on that. When I was institutionalized, my brain was studied exhaustively in the guise of mental health. I was interrogated, I was x-rayed, I was examined thoroughly." ?   Answer »
  • Which movie has the tagline: " The Future is History " ?  Answer »
  • Unbreakable takes place in Philadelphia. On the wall of Elijah's workshop among the newspaper clippings is a headline "Killer Virus Released at Airport". What other Bruce Willis film is this a reference to?  Answer »
  • James:I'm here about some monkeys. Jeffrey: Monkeys? James: Monkeys. Yes. Twelve of them. What movie is the above quote from? Hint: the answer's in the question.  Answer »
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