Twelve Monkeys
In Terry Gilliam's sci-fi mystery with Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt, a lone time traveller from the year 2035 must solve a riddle to save his people but it may also take him to the brink of madness. After the world's population is devastated by a killer virus, survivors must live in dank underground communities. Cole (Willis) 'volunteers' to travel into the past to obtain a pure virus sample, thereby helping scientists develop a cure.
Along the way, he crosses paths with a beautiful psychiatrist (Stowe) and a one-card-short-of-a-full-deck mental patient (Pitt). But the race is on, as Cole searches for The Army of the 12 Monkeys, a radical group linked to the deadly disease.
1995Rating: M, Medium level violence, Low level coarse language124 minsUSA
Science FictionThriller
- Director:
- Terry Gilliam ('The Holy Grail', 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', 'Brazil', 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus')
- Cast:
- Bruce WillisChristopher PlummerBrad PittMadeleine Stowe
Twelve Monkeys / Reviews
Los Angeles Times
Mystifying, intriguing, even infuriating, it shows what happens when an unconventional talent meets straightforward material.
Full reviewRolling Stone
Bruce Willis, in an eruptive performance of startling emotional intensity, stars as a prisoner tagged for an experiment that may get him killed.
Full review
The 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
Time Out
Gilliam gives the material a lunatic poetry of his own, but remains impervious to the requirements of narrative pacing.
Full review
Variety
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 genre.
Full review
The Times
A reminder that the director can make films that are visually inventive, intellectually engaging and downright exciting.
Full review
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