Terry Gilliam is a master storyteller

Rating: 9/10 (26 October 2003)

Twelve Monkeys is perhaps Terry Gilliam's best picture, and it's easy to see why. While most, if not all, of his movies maintain similar disjointedness (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) to them, Twelve Monkeys integrates all parts of the story into one satisfying moviegoing experience. Each part of the film is integrated into the gratifying whole.
The characters of Twelve Monkeys never stray outside of their rationale; while they do change and grow, the writing and the acting never betrays them, and by the end of the movie you don't feel like you're watching Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, because you aren't. You're seeing their characters in a world they cannot control.
The scenery is amazing in its consistency and believability. The futuristic setting is very Gilliamesque (for anyone who has seen Brazil), and the rest was shot on location in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
I really can't express how wonderfully complex a story has been crafted, told from all angles, yet still leaves me feeling like I haven't been played to, that the story is, in and of itself, both a work of art and a complete story.
According to the DVD, chapter 42 is called "Full Circle". And that's really what this movie does. If you're looking for a film that will make you feel for the characters, make you wonder about their circumstances, and leave you with something, that lesson that most movies strive to give, then Twelve Monkeys is beyond worth seeing.
Gilliam's Best- 10/10