In 1997, five billion people will be wiped out by a deadly virus (1997 is a bad year in cinema, as that's also the year the machines take over in Terminator).
12 Monkeys is about a prisoner named James Cole (Bruce Willis) who is sent back in time to discover a way to prevent the apocalypse. His mission is not to change the past but uncover enough information about the initial spread of the virus by an insane animal activist group (led by a cross-eyed and insane Brad Pitt) to discover a cure in the present year of 2035. Of course, by traveling back in time, Cole actually causes many of the events leading up to viral outbreak. Why can't time traveling ever be simple!
I absolutely love time travel movies. The intricacies, the paradoxes, the tangents, the accidentally causing your mother to get wet for you and preventing your own birth. A time travel movie has to be perfect because if there's even a single hole, some nerd in his basement will splatter it all over the Internet and act like he actually accomplished something. So it's a tough task, but 12 Monkeys is one of the best time-travel/dystopian films of the modern era.
The best part of this movie is that it takes a while before you can conclusively say that it is, in fact, a time travel movie. For most of the film, there's the question of whether or not James Cole is actually a time-traveling prisoner from the future or if he's just fucking nuts. There's some great parallels between the insane asylum where Cole ends up and the apocalyptic steampunk world of 2035. There's even a great moment when Cole believes that he's insane while his psychiatrist whom he wants to bang (the love story is kind of tacked on) believes that he really is from the future, thus reversing roles entirely from the beginning of the movie.
To have Brad Pitt in a supporting role these days seems impossible, but Pitt gives one of the best performances of his career in his last movie before he was labeled a "mega star." He was even nominated for a best supporting Oscar for his portrayal of the insane leader of the 12 Monkeys animal activists group. Oh, and this is the last movie where Pitt is actually ugly as fuck so I commend him.
I highly suggest watching the making of documentary on the DVD about the director, Terry Gilliam. Man, what a fucking loon. It would take a man who is certifiably insane to make a mind-fuck of a movie like this. It's smart and it's funny and the script is perfect. I think it's one of the most underrated films of the 90s. Bow down and bask in its glory!
Why It's Awesome:
Well done time travel movies are awesome because they force you to think of the infinite possibilities and issues time travel presents...like would you bang your own mother if she was hot for you and looked like Lea Thompson? I know your initial reaction is no, but think about it...think about it...
Best Quote:
James Cole: I am insane. And you are my insanity.
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