Twelve Monkeys (DVD)

Twelve Monkeys is the 1995 film directed by Terry Gilliam which twists and turns incessantly until the final scene. The Plot In a future where the human race is virtually destroyed following a disease sweeping the world, James Cole is sent back to find out what he can about the disease created by man that has killed nearly everyone. As Cole puts together the pieces of teh puzzle, he comes to terms with his own destiny and wrestles with himself as to what to do. The Cast and Performances Bruce Willis plays Cole, and does so brilliantly. He is obtuse throughout the film, and keeps everyone guessing until the end. Madeleine Stowe ...  Read the complete review

So what do you get when you cross the Sixth Sense with Brazil, and sprinkle in some Fisher King? Why you get 12 Monkeys, of course, one of the finest sci- fi fantasies of the modern cinema age. Terry Gilliam is on inspired form here, mixing his nightmare visions of his deliciously officious dystopia futures with the twisting realization of Bruce Willis coming to terms with his unavoidable destiny. Its one of those enigmatic movies that positively salivates with intrigue and mystery, detail and atmosphere, always building, no resolution until the final scene. Yes the plot doesn't bare close inspection but who cares when Gilliam is behind the camera. The younger writers ...  Read the complete review

Released in 1996, ?Twelve Monkeys? is a bleak and very intelligent film with elements of science fiction and time travel, presented ambiguously in order to keep the viewer guessing about its true nature. The film is not very widely known and by its very nature will deter many casual viewers, but this remains one of my favourite films due to its intriguing plot, excellent acting and one of the most interesting depictions of insanity since ?One Flew over the Cuckoo?s Nest.? PLOT 5 billion of the world?s population were wiped out by a mysterious virus between the years 1996 and 1997, and the surviving ...  Read the complete review

A Hollywood film — modestly budgeted, but a Hollywood film nonetheless and with a star to prove it — directed by a non-Hollywood director, Twelve Monkeys was always going to be a mixture of the arthouse and the multiplex, but it was far less certain whether this combination would actually work: would the resultant film be a masterful mixture of Hollywood star and spectacular effects together with an intelligent and thoughtful plot and tone, or simply a mish-mash which attempted to please all and ended up pleasing nobody? In 2035 humankind’s remnants live in squalid conditions underground, necessary because the Earth’s surface has been ...  Read the complete review

This film has been tragically underrated, even by its greatest enthusiasts. Generally, people assume 12 Monkeys must be good. After all, it's got Brucie in a dirty coat, which every pub film-critic will tell you is a good thing, as he's a much better actor than the action genre allows. Oh, and it's directed by Terry Gilliam, the one that drew the foot off Monty Python, and everyone knows he makes good films, you know... kind of weird. And so the beer-emboldened bar Bresson will lean too close and the last recommendation on this film that you'll hear, before the fumes overcome you, will probably be this: 'It's like a time-travel ...  Read the complete review