12 Monkeys is a movie that I have wanted to see for a while. It has two great actors, Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, and a simple yet potentially deep premise. In the future, 5 billion of the worlds population was wiped out by an airborne disease. The survivors went underground and are currently looking for a potential cure. The surface is ruled by the beats of the Earth. Bruce Willis is a prisoner that is forced to explore the surface gathering animal specimens for study. In exchange for a pardon, Bruce Willis is sent back in time to trace the origins of the virus and the people behind it. But they send him back to the wrong year and things get all screwy.
The film works off another premise described by a psychologist. I forget the name but the basic gist goes like this: The foreknowledge that something is going to happen and the agony of not being able to do anything about it. Willis' character is living in a world that he knows will die no matter what he does. And everyone thinks he is crazy because he talks about the future. It is heartbreaking watching him struggle to explain something that others could never understand. As he is pulled back and forth between time periods his grip on reality is shaken and the audience is left wondering if perhaps he really is insane and it is all in his head.
It is quite depressing but very well done. Any weird or unnecessary scenes can be quickly forgiven. It ranks high on my list of good sci-fi movies and I would encourage film fans to see it.
"I am insane. And you are my insanity."
3.5 out of 4 stars
-Christopher O'Connell
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