Review of Twelve Monkeys (1995) by John M — 13 Mar 2014

Cerebral science fiction. The human race has all but become extinct, with over 5 billion dead from a virus. The survivors move underground and send a man (Bruce Willis) back in time on a recon mission to try and figure out who released this disease, and who in the 12 Monkeys, a terrorist organization, is responsible.

It's inspired by an awesome 28-minute French short called La Jetee, which you should check out if you like this, because it's very unique and uses almost entirely still photography. It takes the core concept and just expands it successfully into a full-length feature.

This project fell into the right hands, because Terry Gilliam is an intelligent, innovative and creative filmmaker, and his style is one of the biggest stars of this movie. He utilizes disorienting camera angles, which is completely appropriate, because Willis' character thinks he is going insane through all this time travel.

And speaking of insane, Brad Pitt practically steals the show as an unhinged and unpredictable mental patient, and you cannot take your eyes off of him whenever he is onscreen. If you are a fan of science fiction, this is an absolute must-see, and it is really cool.