An intelligent comedy/thriller that rewards careful watching.

Rating: Null/10 (3 April 2000)

I remember when 12 Monkeys first came out on video, and I just never did get around to watching it. Well, I'm glad I waited so long, because the DVD version is so good. As good as the movie is, this DVD has the very best "making of" feature I've seen yet. It was done independently and in parallel with making the movie, and gives you a clear idea how this movie was made from concept through test screenings and finally release.
The premise of the movie is complex, but involves a future, underground civilization about A.D. 2035, sending people back in time to try and figure out how to prevent, or to find an antidote for, a deadly virus that had exterminated 99% of the world population. It moves back and forth, from "present" to past, and drops good clues about how everything fits in. Ultimately all is resolved, but you have to be observant. A great movie for real "movie watchers".
The 3 main actors all do a fine job, but Brad Pitt as the semi-crazy character is so well done, and funny, that it is hard to imagine the movie with anyone else. Overall a really fine movie.
(Sept 2012: I just re-watched it after 12 years, I enjoyed it again!)
SPOILERS: The time-traveler was told to find the "Army of the 12 Monkeys" as the likely responsible group, but in the end that turned out to be a red herring. The culprit was actually a mad scientist working for a wealthy businessman, and they managed to figure this out at the airport as he was starting his deadly journey in 1996 to spread the virus across the world. One of the future leaders, a woman, has come back in time to sit next to him. She says, "My Name is Jones. I am in insurance." (She will "insure" that he does not accomplish his mission.)