A fine time-travel movie

Rating: 9/10 (15 October 2014)

In the not too distant future, in a world that has been decimated by a plague, James Cole's dreams are haunted by a childhood memory. In this memory he is at an airport and he sees a man gunned down while a woman looks on in anguish. Cole is volunteered for a special mission to find the source of the plague; most notably what it has to do with the 'Army of the Twelve Monkeys'. This mission involves being sent back in time to 1996 at least that is the idea; in fact he ends up in 1990 and is promptly certified insane! Here he meets psychiatrist Kathryn Railly and fellow patient Jeffrey Goines and has a profound effect on each of them before he vanishes from a locked room. The next time Kathryn sees him is when he kidnaps her in 1996 and demands that she take him to Philadelphia; he is raving like a madman but eventually she starts to believe him but if what he says is really true most of humanity will be dead soon.
This is one of the best time travel films; Terry Gilliam's way of showing us the story makes us wonder if the protagonist might be insane even though we've seen that what he claims is true. Bruce Willis does a fine job as Cole; a man on a mission who is also forced to question his own sanity. Madeleine Stowe puts is a solid performance as Railly and Brad Pitt is great as the obviously crazy Goines. There is a good sense of danger and not just to the Protagonists; it is clear that Cole is dangerous to those around him. Some films are best just watched once but this stands up to repeat viewings; indeed knowing the ending will help you see new details when you watch it again. While the ending isn't exactly a surprise it still has an emotional impact. Overall this fine film is well worth watching if you like sci-fi that is a little strange!