A man from the future travels to the present to find the origins of a deadly virus that has nearly killed everyone on Earth.
PLOT:
"'Five billion people will die from a deadly virus in 1997. The survivors will abandon the surface of the planet. Once again the animals will rule the world.' Excerpts from an interview with a clinically diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. April 12, 1990. Baltimore County Hospital." Thus begins the story of James Cole (BRUCE WILLIS) a prisoner in the future who is "volunteered" to travel back in time to 1996 to find the origins of a deadly virus that has nearly swept mankind into extinction. Time travel being the inexact science that it is, Cole is sent to 1990 instead of 1996. Delusional and disoriented from the time traveling (I hate it when that happens), Cole is misdiagnosed as mentally ill and thus no one believes the seemingly wild story he has to tell. Committed to an asylum, the only one who takes interest in him is Dr. Kathryn Railley (MADELEINE STOWE). For some strange reason she feels that she's met him before, but even so she still doesn't believe his story. Only one person does, and that's another patient, Jeffrey Goines (BRAD PITT). Goines is the mentally unstable son of a noted virus research scientist (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER), and is the leader of group of animal rights revolutionaries, the "Twelve Monkeys." Before Railley can study him further, Cole is plucked away and lands in 1996 where he runs into Railley again. Closer to the origins of the virus, he and Kathryn race to find Goines and stop him or whoever is responsible for the imminent release of the virus.
WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Teens will due to the drawing power of Willis and the teen heart throb status of Pitt. In addition the sci-fi element of the story will draw those fans as well.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For violence and language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
BRUCE WILLIS plays a disoriented and mentally unstable man who displays confusion, paranoia and occasional violence while attempting to complete his mission.
MADELEINE STOWE plays a compassionate doctor concerned with the well being of her patients.
BRAD PITT plays a mentally deranged character who heads up a group of animal rights revolutionaries.
An enjoyable, thought provoking tale, Twelve Monkeys delves into the often popular plot of time travel. While many may debate the "time loop" aspects of the plot, this isn't the focus of the story. Instead it's an interesting supplement to a story about mental illness and global viral poisoning. The performances are good all around including an over the top exhibition by Pitt. Director Terry Gilliam's view of the future is once again bleak, but the movie is still enjoyable in an offbeat way. We give it 7.5 out of 10.
OUR WORD TO PARENTS
There are some fairly violent scenes here and there and a moderately spooky, weird feeling pervades the entire production. Profanity is heavy (mainly the use of the "f" word) and there are a couple of scenes with full rear male nudity. What may be more disturbing for kids are the scenes of mental illness personified by Willis, Pitt and the other characters in the mental asylum. As is the case for every movie/video, you should read all categories before making your final decision.
In an often repeated nightmare, a man is seen falling to the ground after having been shot. The wounded man then raises a bloody hand up to the woman he's with.
A needle is seen going into Cole's arm (but no blood).
It's neither bloody nor gory, but Cole (needing to collect and return specimens to the future), catches a spider and then eats it (because he had no where else to put it).
During a WWI combat scene, many bloody victims are seen, including a man on a stretcher who has just lost his leg and we see his bloody stump.
A man who claims to be from the future as well tells Cole that their whereabouts are tracked by a "bug" in their teeth. This man smiles and displays his missing front teeth in a rotting grin.
A man's head is bloody after Cole's rammed it into a cinder block wall.
Kathryn removes a WWI bullet from Cole and shows it to him on a bloody piece of gauze.
Kathryn's nose bleeds after being smacked in the face by an intruder whose own bloody head is later seen after having been repeatedly beaten with a telephone.
Lots of blood flows from Cole's mouth and onto his hand after he's just cut a tooth from his own mouth (that he believed was bugged).
Blood spurts out as Cole is shot. Moments later, Kathryn puts her hand over his wound and lots of blood squirts out.
All of the future scenes have a weird, disorienting feel to them which may be upsetting to some kids.
Cole repeatedly has a nightmare where as a little boy he hears a woman scream "No!" and then sees a man being shot and falling to the ground.
Cole travels to the surface of the planet and encounters the ruins of our present civilization. It's all rather spooky looking and he encounters both a bear (that looks like it might come after him) and a lion that freely roam the abandoned city.
Cole lands in a WWI nighttime battle where bombs are dropping, machine guns blazing and many people dieing.
A masked man grabs Kathryn at gunpoint (he says he has one) and forces her into her car. It turns out to be Cole who demands that she take him to Philadelphia.
There is a tense scene in a theater where Cole and Kathryn are attacked (see "Violence").
There are repeated references to a boy being trapped in a well, but nothing is ever seen of that.
17 "f" words, 5 "s" words, 4 "ass" words, 1 slang term for female genitals (the "p" word), 1 damn, 1 SOB, and 2 uses each of "Oh God/Oh my God," and "Jesus" and 1 use each of "For God's sake," and "Good Lord" as exclamations.
There is full rear nudity of Cole as he's washed down after having returned from the infected planet surface.
There is more full rear nudity of Cole as he's washed down in the psychiatric ward.
In a free flowing tirade of thoughts and words, Goines spouts out the words "electrically operated sexual devices." (Relating to nothing in particular)
Goines "moons" several orderlies and his bare butt is seen ( is this "Twelve Monkeys" or "Twelve buns?")
Returned to the future Cole is asked "How was it? Lots of drugs? Lots of good p*ssy?"
Cole's butt is again seen during a WWI battle scene where for some reason he ends up there nude.
A motel manager thinks that Cole and Kathryn have checked in for sex (they haven't). Cole says that she's a psychiatrist and the manager responds, "Whatever gets it up for you."
In an often repeated nightmare, a man is seen falling to the ground after having been shot in an airport.
There's talk that it took many officers to subdue Cole once he arrived in 1996 and that two of them had to go to the hospital.
Goines creates a distraction to allow Cole to attempt an escape from the asylum. In the process Goines knocks over furniture and ends up throwing a table at the orderlies (not to hurt them, but again as a distraction).
Cole fights with the orderlies when they find him during his escape. He kicks one in the gut and hits another in the face. They finally subdue and tranquilize him. We later hear that a security guard received a skull fracture during the fight.
Cole is accidentally sent to WWI where a battle is raging. Bombs are exploding, machine guns are firing and people are being killed. Cole is shot in the leg.
Cole kidnaps Kathryn and makes her drive him to Philly. Later she's seen tied to a motel bed.
In an old decrepit theater, several street people are seen beating up another person. They spot Cole and Kathryn and rush over, knocking Cole to the ground. One of them holds a gun to Cole, who kicks the guy in the groin and then knocks the gun away which discharges. Meanwhile, another man kicks Kathryn to the ground and then prepares to rape her. Cole, then smashes the first guy's head into a wall and attacks the other guy, repeatedly beating and kicking him in the head until he's dead.
Cole holds a handgun on members of the "12 Monkeys" and later they're seen tied up as Cole and Kathryn look for clues about the virus.
Cole fights off several of Dr. Goines' bodyguards when he goes to see Jeffrey.
Kathryn hits Cole after he lets her out of the trunk of their car.
In a motel room, a man bursts in and smacks Kathryn in the face, drawing blood. Cole comes to the rescue and repeatedly pounds the intruder over the head with a telephone.
Although we only see the bloody results, Cole cuts a tooth out of his own mouth.
The "12 Monkeys" have kidnaped Dr. Goines and carry him gagged and wrapped in a plastic bag.
Cole's "cellmate" from the future arrives in the past and tells Cole that he's been sent there to kill Kathryn if Cole doesn't kill the person responsible for spreading the virus.
Cole and Kathryn try to stop that person in the airport. Cole breaks through security and pulls out a gun. The police shoot him as he runs after the man. He falls to the floor and moments later dies.
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