12 Monkeys (1995) (Special Edition)

Back on time from the future!

By theinternetmostwanted_com  Jun 29, 2006

Pros: Great story, entertaining and different

Cons: Too much in too little time

12 Monkeys is a refreshing to encounter a movie with a logical, intelligent approach to the dangers of zipping through time. While I won't claim that Twelve Monkeys has a decisive solution, this approach makes sense, primarily because the time tr...ippers here aren't trying to change the past (hence, wiping out reality), but are instead observing it to make a better future. As it is, though, that future looks pretty bleak. On December 13, 1996, in Philadelphia, a malignant virus was let loose. Months later, 5 billion worldwide were dead. The few survivors were relegated to living underground in germ-free cellars and tunnels. On the surface, Earth was ruled by animals, insects, and vegetation. Mankind's legacy to the planet was its slowly-decaying cities. Witness one of Twelve Monkeys' early scenes, where bears and lions roam the deserted streets surrounding Philadelphia's snow-encrusted City Hall. It's a chilling, almost gothic, sequence that perfectly establishes the film's dark mood. James Cole (Bruce Willis) is a 21st century convict living in a hellhole prison sometime in the 2020s. In order to reduce his sentence, or even obtain a full pardon, he "volunteers" to travel back in time to the 1990s to obtain a pure sample of the virus so that modern science can analyze it. Cole's trip takes him to 1990, where he is incarcerated in a Maryland asylum under the care of psychiatrist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe). One of Cole's fellow inmates is a totally off-the-wall nutcase named Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), the son of renowned virologist Leland Goines (Christopher Plummer), a man whose name is featured prominently in future headlines. Twelve Monkeys spans four time periods: 1917 in the trenches of World War One, 1990 in Maryland, 1996 in Maryland and Philadelphia, and the 2020s deep beneath Philadelphia. Like director Terry Gilliam's previous efforts Brazil and Time Bandits, this movie is saturated with atmosphere. The grim, gray film has two tones: somber and apocalyptic. Those in search of feel good escapism would do better to check out Mr. Holland's Opus. Those looking for a perfect winter double feature might consider matching Twelve Monkeys with Jeunet and Caro's The City of Lost Children. While each motion picture maintains its own identity, there are numerous similarities, the most obvious being a darkly twisted view of an apocalyptic future. The films compliment each other, and it's plain that the directors have precise visions that are effectively, and sometimes spectacularly, realized. Best of all, both movies challenge the mind -- something that too few productions can be accused of these days. Read more Less