Gilliam, Willis and Pitt at their best.

Rating: 10/10 (28 July 1999)

Time-travel is always a tricky (ridiculous?) element in a film's plot, but, if you don't think about that aspect too much, this film is immensely rewarding.You'll have to concentrate while watching it and probably see it at least twice.
This is easily Bruce Willis' best role: he struggles his way through having a thoroughly miserable time, getting beaten up at regular intervals and alternating between bewildered and driven the rest of the time. Brad Pitt is superb as the m-m-mad son-of-a-biologist: he creates a totally believable set of speech and hand-movement tics, and manages to be funny and sympathetic.
The switch two-thirds of the way in when Madelaine Stowe starts to believe that Bruce Willis is sane, but he becomes convinced that he's crazy provides extra impetus to keep us thinking (remember when you used to do that while watching a film?) and propel us towards the finale.
The ending is thoroughly satisfying, Gilliam's visuals are spot-on (as usual) and the viewer is treated like an adult (hoorah!).