Rating: 
Summary: About sigma126's review...
Review: IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE, DON'T READ ANY OF THIS. THIS IS A FANTASTIC MOVIE AND MY ARGUMENTS BELOW WILL RUIN IT FOR YOU.With that said, I loved this movie, it is brilliant. But that isn't the purpose of my review. I intend to disprove sigma126's comments. sigma126 remarks that if time could be changed allowing for little things like the killing of the two bums and generally interacting with people of that time, why couldn't be bigger events be changed. My response is: who says time was changed? Maybe the only way it ever happened was the bums getting killed. The entire plot of the movie suggests that the future can effect the past just as much as the past the future. He saw his older self killed when he was a kid in the air port. His getting killed there didn't change anything. His traveling back in time didn't change anything. These actions created the result that was in existence already. It's the concept of that when you travel back in time to change something the things you do could possibly be what created that circumstance in the first place. I'm going to stop now because my brain hurts...
Rating: 
Summary: Time Travel Monkey Style
Review: This movie was full of surprises and some really great acting. My only complaint is with some of the science. Consider the scenes in 1990. Kathryn had a deja vu of events that take place in 1996. This leads us to believe that all time (1990, 1996, 2030, etc) occurs simultaneously. The movie also has the premise that events can not be changed (Cole says many times that the virus can't be prevented). But, small events are changed. For example, Cole causing bruises on a policeman and kills two bums. Why is it not permissible for large events be changed (e.g., stopping the virus from being released)? If the past was indeed set in concrete, then the only acceptable thing that Cole and the other time travelers could do would be to observe and not interact. That is why I give this 4 stars instead of 5. Otherwise, it was a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: Get it you won't regret it
Review: I could rate this ten stars! Everyone in these reviews has divulged their version of "the heart of" this movie and the motivation behind the scientist's and James' actions. Yet I will only say it is a movie that you can relate to, and mysterious at the same time. If you like to be curious, buy it and watch it every once in a while - leave enough time for yourself to change a little. Each time you watch it, it will pose another intellectual, enjoyable challenge.
Rating:
Summary: Get it you won't regret it
Review: I could rate this ten stars! Everyone in the reviews above has divulged their version of "the heart of" this movie and the motivation behind the scientist's and James' actions. Yet I can only tell you that it is a movie that you can relate to, and mysterious at the same time. If you like to be curious, buy it and watch it every once in a while - leave enough time for yourself to change a little. Each time you watch it, it will poses another intellectual, yet enjoyable, challenge.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't even bother
Review: This movie bites.There were not 12 kung fu masters like the title implied. After watching Iron Monkey, Mad Monkey Kung Fu, and Iron Monkey 2, I had high expectations for 12Monkeys. Total disappointment. Don't even bother watching it.
Rating:
Summary: you cant turn back time, thank you einstein
Review: great movie! everyone knows the plot line or at least they will once they read some of the other reviews. the only bad thing i have to say is that buying this disc is a catch 22. you can either buy the dts version with mind-numbing sound quality or you can buy the special edition with all the great special features but you cant have both unless you purchase both. this dts version should have been a super-dooper special edition with all the extra doo-dads added onto a second disc. on a lighter note, i cant stress how good the sound is if you have home theatre. the beginning scene makes me feel like i am in the shower with willis and most of the rest of the movie is like that too.
Rating:
Summary: WILLIS AND PITT
Review: Okay, who in here DOES NOT think that Bruce N' Brad give their best performances (besides the Sixth Sense & Fight Club) in 12 Monkeys?!?! If you are the type of person who enjoys light-hearted, easy-to-comprehend films----Don't Watch This Movie!! Not only is it difficult to understand at times, but it's just flat-out weird!! I think that's why I enjoy it so much though. I admit, the first time you view it, you will be COMPLETELY and UTTERLY lost. I know I was. It's difficult to really compose a plot summary. It would be difficult to follow. But if you like movies with plot twists and dark subject matters, this film would be perfect for you. Madeleine Stowe also turns in a note-worthy performance. Highly recommended!!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome - Really makes you think
Review: 12 Monkeys is about a convict from the future. Earth's air is infected with a deadly virus that has wiped out something like 99% of the population. Those who are alive live underground. The convicts "volunteer" to help the scientists collect data on the surface with special suits on. Some of them even have to travel back through time to collect information. This convict, played by Bruce Willis, is the star of this story. He is supposed to get sent back to the year that the virus is released, but he is accidentally sent back five years before the virus is supposed to be sent. Everyone thinks he is a raving lunatic including a very pretty psychologist (Madeline Stowe, who does a fabulous American accent). There, he meets fellow nutcase Jeffery Goines (I hope that's spelled right) who really is crazy! Anyway, he travels through time, and gradually, the story unfolds. A sad romance also grows between him and the psychologist. There are many unanswered questions. You may find the answers to them if you watch it more than once, though, and pay very close attention. This sounds very confusing, and it is. But it is ever so cool.
Rating:
Summary: Boring, pointless
Review: I watched this movie in the theatres in Seattle when it first came out courtesy of free tickets by my apartment manager and I found it incredible boring. Where was the plot? There's hardly a thing I can remember of the movie. What I am most surprised was Terry Gilliam directed this movie, he should be forever ashamed. I mean, he's the guy who gave us all those silly animations for Monty Python, I even think he played one the Upper Class Twits on that Upper Class Twit Of The Year skit. But for 12 Monkeys, all Gilliam did was create a film that I found little more than a snoozefest. I remember at the end of 1995 and the beginning of 1996 the film was being VERY hyped. After the movie premiered in the theatres at the beginning of '96, it seemed like few bothtered to watch, and the hype quickly faded. This is one of the most boring, non-memorable films I have seen, and if you must see this, rent the tape.
Rating:
Summary: Who Can Stop the Army of the 12 Monkeys?
Review: In the world of the mind and in the realm of the imagination, anything is possible-- even the ability to transport someone through time. So suspend your disbelief for awhile, check it at the door, and launch yourself into "12 Monkeys," an adventure directed by Terry Gilliam that takes you into the past by way of the future. It begins sometime in the near future, a time in which the inhabitants of the Earth are forced to live underground, having been driven there in 1996, when a deadly virus was intentionally released into the atmosphere rendering the air unbreathable and ultimately killing five billion people. Now scientists believe they have attained the capability of developing a way to make the air breathable again, in which case mankind will be able to return to the surface of the planet and rebuild a new world. But their plan is contingent upon first acquiring a sample of the virus in it's original, pure form, rather than the mutated strains currently available to them. This means that someone must be sent back to 1996 to collect data and locate the source of the virus, which would then enable them to send a scientist back to procure the needed sample. Thus far, though they have successfully implemented a system of time travel, their efforts have been for naught. Using "volunteers" from the penal system, they have failed time and again for any number of reasons, not the least of which has to do with the lack of cooperation and effort put forth by their "chosen" few . Now, however, they feel they have just the man for the job, a prisoner named James Cole (Bruce Willis), who has agreed to collect their necessary data in exchange for a full pardon. The biggest problem seems to be that their "time targeting" isn't exactly precise. They have information that will help Cole once he gets there-- a cryptic message they uncovered points to a high profile group known as the "Army of the 12 Monkeys" as being responsible for unleashing the virus-- and if they can just land Cole sometime before December of '96, he'll be able to track them down. So, Cole suits up-- and the adventure begins. As he did with his 1985 film, "Brazil," Gilliam here has created a bizarre world that seems to have been dropped through the looking glass. He presents a future that comes through as something of a subterranean version of the world in "Blade Runner;" a bit darker and with the definition of a reflection in a fun house mirror. And it's all quite effective, especially in contrast to the "real" world of the past in which Cole finds himself. But what really makes it interesting and keeps the audience involved is the fact that you know everything that Cole knows, which allows you to share his frustration in dealing with an unimaginable situation, and it makes it a tense and exciting experience. It works because Gilliam has created a very real fantasy world, as well as a believable "present" that for the purpose of the film is actually the "past." The plot becomes fairly complex at times, but after a couple of twists and turns, it all comes together and makes sense in the end. Bruce Willis does a good job in this one, creating a character that is actually quite unlike any other he's ever done. Cole is certainly heroic, but not in the same straightforward manner as John McClane in the "Die Hard" series, or the more subtle, understated hero of "Unbreakable," David Dunn. And the emotional character development you see in Cole is credibly realized, for which Willis and Gilliam both deserve a nod of recognition, as it's a good piece of acting by Willis and a demonstration of Gilliam's ability as a director. It all comes about quite naturally through the narrative of the story, which makes it believable and very real. Brad Pitt, meanwhile, practically steals the show in his supporting role as Jeffrey Goines, the well-to-do idealist with sensibilities that are just a notch off center. It's a memorable character, created with nuance and detail, and he deservedly received an Oscar nomination for it. Also giving a notable performance is Madeleine Stowe as Dr. Kathryn Railly, the psychiatrist who meets up with Cole and attempts to sort out his psyche while trying to find out just who he really is and where he came from. The supporting cast includes Jon Seda (Jose), Christopher Plummer (Dr. Goines), David Morse (Dr. Peters), Frank Gorshin (Dr. Fletcher) and Michael Chance (Scarface). With an ending worthy of M. Night Shyamalan, "12 Monkeys" is an engrossing action/suspense/drama that will keep you going until the very end. And in retrospect, few movies fall just outside of a specific genre or category the way this one does, so for the sake of argument, I'll create one and call it "Gilliam Noir"-- a new genre especially for Gilliam's films (and others like them), including "Brazil" and "The Fisher King." Unique films that deserve their own unique place as paragons of cinematic achievement. It's all about the artistry of film, and the magic of the movies.
|
