Python meets Terminator

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2014)

'Twelve Monkeys' is Terry Gilliam's mind-bending time travel epic which tells the story of convict, Bruce Willis, being repeatedly sent back in time to discover the cause of a mysterious virus which wiped out 99% of humanity.
It doesn't have Terminator's action sequences, but the plot is kind of similar, plus Gilliam shows his flair for depicting his weird vision of the future by showing us a world that is a cross between Brazil and Time Bandits.
Despite Bruce Willis not always receiving that much praise for his acting abilities, he comes across pretty well here as a vulnerable and confused man, trying to make sense of the weird situation he finds himself in. (A very young) Brad Pitt also co-stars and steals every scene with his odd eyes and borderline psychotic personality disorders.
It's a great film, but you have to be in the mood for it. I've watched it about three times in the space of nearly twenty years and loved it every time. I have to feel like sitting down and really trying to get my head around who's doing what and why.
Like I said, it's not just like Terminator where bad guys fight good guys. You may have to think a little with this one. If you're a fan of Terry Gilliam's work, you should love this. If you've never seen anything he's done before, you may have to tread carefully with this one and check out some more reviews before you decide to commit over two hours to looking into his twisted mind.