Review of Twelve Monkeys (1995) by Nathan R — 14 Apr 2013

Just as I felt after watching the film Blade Runner, I didn't really get the hype around this movie. It was not anywhere near as good as people make it out to be. Perhaps I'm just a lowly cynic who believes a film should actually make some damn sense, but when a world exists when nonsensical films cease to be made, I'll no longer act in satire.

This film lacked any and all sentiment. I didn't care for any of the characters. Not one of them had a shred of interesting points or personality (not including Brad Pitt's character, Jeffery). The ending is a highly predictable and unsurprising, leaving the film to feel like a lengthy borefest by the time it actually gets to the freaking point already, which is one of my major complaints. "Mind-blowing plot twists," I think not. Mind remains successfully un-blown.

This movie dragged. And dragged. And... dragged... and I felt that the psychiatrist's role in the story could have been omitted and it would have told the exact same plot without fail. Her character had no point other than to scream and snivel every moment she was on screen, and whatever "romance" was supposed to be going on between her and the protagonist was lacking in any emotion, as well as significance. In every scene featuring this "romance," it didn't matter, because it had nothing to do with anything. I didn't once feel that these two could ever actually be in love. They were just both so unlikeable.

Brad Pitt's performance, on the other hand, was by far the only entertaining aspect of the otherwise snooze-worthy film. His zany, crooked-eyed psychopath may have well been the only character worth watching.

There's a lot to be said about those who tackle the concept of time travel films, and needless to say, it's not a good route to take when creating a movie. Every time travel movie has gaping plot holes that make it impossible to enjoy for someone like me. When a movie ends with me seeing how it couldn't have possibly happened (even from a fictional standpoint), it's characterized as bad to me.

Lastly, I have no idea what this movie was trying to accomplish, nor what it was trying to tell people. Was it saying time travel was good? Bad? That Eco-terrorists will one day rule or destroy the planet? It was just a flimsy excuse for a poorly done romantic drama involving a doctor and patient, with a very implausible time travel twist. And it was worse than I was expecting.