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12 MonkeysRating:
Release Date: 02 September, 2003 Retail Price: $14.98 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Complete Cast (15 total) |
12 Monkeys Reviews
An intelligent sci-fi thriller with a terrifc cast
First off, Bruce Willis gave his best perfomance ever in this film. The movie is about a future devastated by a virus, forcing mankind to live underground. Willis plays a criminal, given a chance to wipe the slate clean if he offers to go back and time, and discover a cure. Along the way, he bumps into Madeline Stowe, who is convinced he is insane, as well as Brad Pitt, as a mental patient with a plan. But after bouncing back and forth in time, he begins to question his mental health himself.
This film, of course, deals with time travel, and that includes all the logic dealing with time travel, such as the Grandfather Paradox. This mind-bender deals with the theory of if you go back in time and kill your grandfather, then how could you even exist, since you would not have been born then? This is not just a sci-fi thriller, it is a very smart sci-fi thriller, taking many viewings to fully appreciate the depth of the film.
The DVD transfer is terrific, with a great behind-the-scenes documentary. Along with other features, the picture and sound is terrific, one of the best-looking DVDs own. this one is a keeper!
Great movie, great DVD!
When I saw "12 Monkeys" in the theaters, I thought to myself, "This is one of the greatest films of the past ten years." Despite working with a script written by others and under some stringent studio restrictions, Terry Gilliam more than managed to infuse the story with his trademark approach to movie-making.
I had some reservations going in about the choice of Brad Pitt to play the role of a mentally unbalanced eco-terroist, but Pitt did a marvelous job and really made the character his own. (Viewers who like Pitt in "12 Monkeys" would probably do well to check out his performance in "Fight Club". Tyler Durden is what Jeffery Goins could be if he were less manic.) Bruce Willis and Madeline Stowe also turn in terrific performances, especially Willis for whom this was one of his first non-action films. Fans of the old "Batman" TV show will be amused to see Frank Gorshin (the Riddler) as the chief psychiatrist at the mental institution were much of the early part of the film takes place. Christopher Plummer is not given much screen time, but he does an excellent job with what little he has.
As for the story itself, even though many people try to claim that it is about the line between sanity and madness(in the vein of Gilliam's "The Fisher King"), I just do not see it as such. I never doubted Cole's sanity, the future world was too real to make me think that it was a figment of Cole's imagination. And if one did have that impression at first, there was too much revealed early in the film to sustain that belief. I prefer to view the story as an extremely intricate "whodunit", where the viewer actually receives most of the information relevant to the conclusion by about half-way through the film, but in such a jumbled and contradictory manner that the true outcome remains obscure until the last 15 minutes. But of course, this being a Gilliam picture, even after the conclusion is revealed, a final twist is thrown to the viewer. (Note: to appreciate the twist, pay attention to the future scientists. I've known some people who didn't watch closely and they didn't understand the twist as a result.)
Setting aside the film, and considering the DVD, Universal did an excellent job with this release. The documentary "The Hamster Factor" offers some great insights into both "12 Monkeys" and the movie industry in general. And the commentary track with Gilliam and the producer is very good for understanding the process of movie-making, as well as how specific scenes were set up. My only disappointment came with the "Production Notes" feature. If you watch the documentary and listen to the commentary track, the production notes really just repeat what you've previously learned.
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