The future is history. "12 Monkeys," the apocalyptic vision of director Terry Gilliam, stars box-office stars Bruce Willis sans hair and Brad Pitt as Jeffrey Goines, the scattershot son of a Nobel prize-winning virologist.
Wrought with all your conventional sci-fi plot devices -- a time machine, fragmented sequences in the past and present, and a puckish ex-criminal -- "12 Monkeys" is a stylish but characteristic popcorn thriller. All the classic ingredients have been poured into this one can be stirred slightly, but not shaken too much.
However, this film manages to break the mold of typical sci-fi flicks due much in part to Gilliam's deft direction and the elaborate script written by David and Janet Peoples. Not since "Brazil" have audiences had to the chance to observe Gilliam's murkily moody imagination at work.
As audiences will see, "12 Monkeys" is another one of Gilliam's sinister creations, a complex tale of time travel, love and urgency all enveloped within the story of a futuristic savior trying to rescue humanity from the inevitable.
The year is 2035. A deadly pestilence has forced humanity underground. James Cole (Willis), an ex-convict with a lengthy rap sheet, is selected for a time-traveling project in exchange for parole. His mission is to identify the origin of a virus which has wiped out over 99 percent of mankind.
Cole is first sent mistakenly to 1990, six years before the plague begins. Collecting specimens and samples for his return, Cole eventually runs into the police who then place him in a insane asylum on the merits of his far-fetched time travel story. As the film progresses, Cole believes that he is losing his sanity, creating the adventures in his mind rather than actually living them.
While at the asylum, he meets Goines (Pitt), a character with a proto-Beavis sense of humor and an unstable, neurotic personality, and Dr. Railly, played by Madeleine Stowe, a compassionate psychiatrist who eventually believes Cole's story.
Willis plays the character of James Cole with verve and artistry. The line between the past and present eventually becomes dizzingly blurred and the audience is taken on a roller-coaster ride of plot twists and character developments.
Pitt, in an uncharacteristic role as psychopath, lets the audience into the psyche of a crazed man who barely has a grasp on reality. Pitt adds considerably to the enigma of the film with his bug-eyed antics and psychotic devilishness.
Stowe, in a strong performance, works well with Willis. Together they possess an uncanny sense of urgency which drives the film.
Cole is later whisked away to 1996, where information about the Army of the 12 Monkeys begins to unravel. Dr. Railly, now as an accomplice and love interest, helps Cole in his efforts to find the truth. And the ending is a scene by scene edge-of-your-seat thriller.
What works in this film is the star power -- Pitt, Willis, and Stowe give very realistic and powerful portrayals of their characters. Willis, in an un-macho light, even lets down his guard and cries in one scene as the sounds of "Blueberry Hill" waft in the background.
Driving and never listless, "12 Monkeys" is a diesel-pumping film that even seems to hold audience members as unwilling participants. Well worth your money and your concentration, "12 Monkeys" is a cracklingly energetic and mind-boggling sci-fi head trip.
