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12 Monkeys (1995)


For a fun drinking game, take a shot every time the film uses the word "psychiatrist." 

The look of the film is great. Brad Pitt (Jeffrey) and Bruce Willis (James) act their butts off. And yet, when I finish the film, I feel unsatisfied. 

I'm not happy with the ending. The virus has been released. The future hasn't been able to stop the past from happening. Well, I don't want to get into a time travel debate, but if the future fails, can't it just keep trying?

This is one of those movies that has the cool idea, but then it never shows how it works. Which is fine. We get the idea that time travel is dangerous and inaccurate. The scientists use "volunteer" inmates because, I assume, they're disposable. James and Jose (Jon Seda) are two of the inmates we see, but there are other anonymous future folks keeping watch on James, too. 

Ultimately, I guess much depends on that end scene. It's been referenced a number of times. James dreams it, because he's lived it. He's seen the moment because he was also there as a kid when it first happened. Why Kathryn (Madeleine Stowe) would feel any de ja vu about that scene, however, is unclear to me. She experiences it the first time as an adult, and yet, for some reason, she feels like she's reliving the moment, too. Why?

Other than the ending, I feel a little duped about the 12 Monkeys army angle. Yeah, it's cute, but it feels like a trick on the audience. I understand that we are being put in the place of the James, and what he knows, but if he knew about boy hiding in the barn, did he really not know about the 12 Monkeys releasing the zoo animals? That seems like it would be a big story. I guess we're to believe that this was a "new event" in the past, that James influenced Jeffrey to do it? Still, once the past has been changed, the future would know? Anyway, time travel movies don't want to be thought about too carefully.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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