Release Date: January 5, 1996
Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, David Morse
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
MPAA Rating: R (violence, language)
The science fiction genre, perhaps one of the most delicate genres in the motion picture industry, is the product of some of the most versatile minds in said industry. After all, it's not your run-of-the-mill writer who can dream up a team of scientists recreating dinosaurs from crystallized DNA or a weighty drama about humans in the twenty-fourth century traveling on starships at the speed of light. That inventiveness and ingenuity is herein exemplefied by David and Janet Peoples, writers of Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys. A fine example of a science fiction movie, and moreover, of an entertaining product, this will surely be one of the more memorable films of 1996.
It's often said that a movie which makes you think is an impossibility, because the American movies in the main are certainly less than intelligent. But you'll enjoy the cognitive processes going on beyond the scenes in Twelve Monkeys, which both draw you in to the characters and scenes. Albeit originally confusing, and perhaps so throughout, the intellectual side of this movie isn't beyond the average viewer's capabilities. It may at first seem so, because the narrative hooks, while fantastic, do take a bit of getting used to. This isn't your father's science fiction movie, that much is evident from the outset. But if the viewer stays committed, then all of the confusedness, intellectualism, and abnormalities will suddenly fall into place and the stark realization of the genius of the plot will come at the end of the domino rally.
Bruce Willis (Die Hard: With a Vengeance) plays James Cole, our hero, a man of few words who lives in the apocalyptic near future (1997). In his time, only one percent of the world still lives, less than five million people, the rest having been killed off by a horrible and uncurable plague. In an effort to combat the plague, scientists in 1997 send Cole back in time to 1996 to try and find the pure strain of the virus so that they can reverse the effects there. Unfortunately, their first attempt at time travel puts him in 1990, where he is locked up in an insane asylum because his ramblings make no sense. Returned to the present, he explains the mishap and is then sent to 1996, where he meets up with a psychologist who begins to believe his stories. It's then that they race against time and against Cole's superiors to find the creators of the virus before it's too late.
The synopsis above is greatly simplified, and does not do justice to the fine storytelling method of David and Janet Peoples. However, that story wouldn't be complete without some credible performances on-screen. Although no one stands out especially, both Madeleine Stowe (Blink) and Brad Pitt (Seven) give very believable turn-outs: Pitt, as a borderline crazy, and Stowe, as the sympathetic psychologist, are in good form here. Willis is solid enough, but not great, and its testamony to the skill of Director Terry Gilliam that all of this is pulled into one neat package. The science fiction genre may be fragile, and it may be narrow, but efforts such as this will greatly strengthen it. A must-see.
all contents © 1996 Craig Roush