One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

In a futuristic world where most of the human race has gone extinct as a result of a purposely released virus, convict James is sent into the past, numerous times, in a desperate attempt to discover the author and try to develop a cure. Bruce Willis' character, with his time travels, seems to become more and more confused about which is the present or which is reality, beginning to doubt his mental condition. At the same time, he must focus on the mission he has been assigned, fact which will prove to be more problematic than expected, as he is easily stolen by the beauty of nature, as he's never seen it before. Add a female psychiatrist to the equation and you'll get a very complex and tangled storyline in which James struggles to find his place.Although I enjoyed its plot, I feel that James is being dragged away from one place to another, always being the wrong man at the wrong time, always suffering or being injured and thus, being unable to do more to defend the beloved or to advance into his investigation. Although unexpected and unpredictable as the entire movie, I was somehow disappointed by its finale, which doesn't do anything to bring the slightest change to the apocalyptic situation.

*Spoilers all over*The movie is fine. It's pretty interesting all over, but the fact that the ending is so badly written just makes me have to give it 2 stars.It made me real mad that the writer decided to end the movie the easy way: by making everyone suddenly non-intelligent beings.Everyone is suddenly non-intelligent and non-normal in the airport, even the security guy who asks to open a biological sample in the middle of the airport (that seems real normal, mister writer). Jose who I'm guessing went to have some coffee after giving Bruce Willis the gun because he seems to be OK with the bad guy running away. The woman who decided to stop trying to stop the wacko, and the rest of the people at the airport who don't seem to find strange that the guy running from Bruce Willis should be interrogated in any way. Somebody with biological material running from a guy with a gun who has just been shot: let's not raise any alarms, let's let him fly all around the world without questioning him first. That seems very normal and intelligent, yes sir. *Sigh*I'm extremely mad with the ending. What at first was a fine movie... just got ruined due to a really really stupid ending. It's insulting.What I really don't get is that barely nobody's complaining about the ending. Maybe the 2 stars I've given this movie is lower than it deserves, but I just see so many people reviewing this with nines and tens, that it baffles me.Characters are all believable and intelligent all the time... But suddenly really stupid at the end. To the point that I got really frustrated and angry.I'm repeating myself now a lot, but I think that nobody that is at least half-intelligent and has seen the ending can't have felt their intelligence insulted with it's finale. It could have been resolved much better while staying with the tragic ending.Sorry for the rant, but I just felt that I had to warn intelligent people that the ending might insult your intelligence.Really wanted to like this movie. What a shame.

I wanted to see this since it was in the theaters 20 years ago, but somehow it never came to the table. I missed it in theaters, then I did not have VCR, then VHS became obsolete but I did not have internet till 2010... and so on till today. I was really dead set, darkened room, good sound, snacks, all in order and... complete disappointment.

Currently, the topic of "time travel" is all the rage these days due to the incredible mind of JJ Abrams and a little show (you may have heard of it) called LOST. However, unless you hold a degree in quantum physics and can wrap your head around such concepts as Schrodinger's Cat or the Many-Worlds theory, the concepts that LOST throws around may be a bit overwhelming and a little frustrating. Fortunately, "12 Monkeys" provides what LOST cannot: a mind-bending time-travel plot that is both intellectually stimulating, yet easy enough to understand if one just pays close attention.The basic plot of the film centers on James Cole (Bruce Willis), a prisoner from "the future" (1997; where all surviving humans now live underground due to an apocalyptic event), who is sent back in time to try and gather information to prevent the catastrophe. While skipping through time, Cole meets two people, Dr. Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and mental patient Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), who ultimately prove crucial to his mission of saving humanity from an underground existence.The brilliance of this film is that, although most time-travel plots are either overwhelming (LOST) or too simple (think Star Trek episodes), director Terry Gilliam manages to find the perfect mix. Upon completion of viewing, I was quite certain that I understood what had just transpired (a feat never to be overlooked when dealing with time-travel). Only after some auxiliary study did I begin to consider some alternate interpretations, none of which cheapen that original reaction in any way.The acting is also very solid, with Willis progressing the Cole character very nicely (from completely lost--like the viewers--to informed and ready for action), Pitt turning in a good show as the manic Goines, and Stowe portraying the "straight gal" who, like our minds, must be convinced that all of this is really happening.Thus, I would recommend "12 Monkeys" to any and all fans of science fiction, mystery, suspense, and action films for its ability to strike the right balance between mind-stimulating material and utter confusion. Plus, it is a film that can easily be viewed multiple times, as little tidbits can be picked up each time through.