Twelve Monkeys
Directed by Terry Gilliam8.088%88%7.6
In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
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Twelve Monkeys Ratings & Reviews
- Kevin Ward14 July 2025In 1996/1997, 5 billion people die from a deadly virus outbreak. The last remaining humans have receded underground for survival. In this future, prisoners “volunteer” to conduct scientific expeditions and in return prisoners can receive reduced time off their sentences or even pardons. These research expeditions include trips to the surface but also ventures back in time with hopes of locating the origin of the virus and potentially a cure. Bruce Willis stars as James Cole, one of said prisoners. The science of time travel is messy and carries unknown (or possibly known) side effects on the traveller. They don’t always send the person to the correct time. The traveller can become disoriented and lose touch with reality. James, in fact, is sent to 1990 instead of just before the viral outbreak in 1996 and winds up in a mental institution where he meets Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), a meeting which may have some unintended consequences of its own. As James undertakes more and more time jumps, he begins to lose his grip on reality. And though he has the knowledge of a calamitous future, he’s burdened with the absolute inability to do anything to change it. Terry Gilliam’s brilliant direction brings this grimy and bleak futuristic vision to life. The script smartly written and is incredibly conceived, particularly for a plot that involves time travel. Bruce Willis gives one of the best performances of his career and Brad Pitt gives perhaps his wildest. (Not to mention you get to see both of their bare asses). The film hits even harder now after having lived through a pandemic. James yearning to stay in the pre-pandemic past even if it means he’s mentally insane is, well….relatable. If you’ve somehow never seen this film, I highly recommend. Masterpiece.
- williboy4 January 2026One of my favorite movies. The BEST Brad Pitt ever.
- Callum6 November 2025⭐⭐⭐⭐½ – 12 Monkeys – Madness, Memory, and the Loops We Live In Before COVID, 12 Monkeys felt like dystopian fiction — now it feels disturbingly plausible. Terry Gilliam’s grim, twisting vision of a world undone by disease and desperation has only grown sharper with time. What once played as science fiction now reads as a mirror held too close for comfort, reflecting humanity’s fear, denial, and desperate search for control. Bruce Willis delivers one of his most haunting performances as a man sent back through time to find the source of a plague that destroys the future. Each jump leaves him more unmoored, and the question shifts from what’s real to what’s remembered. Brad Pitt is manic brilliance as the anarchic Jeffrey Goines — a performance that steals every scene without ever breaking the film’s internal logic. Madeline Stowe, meanwhile, grounds the chaos with emotional clarity, balancing the madness around her with quiet empathy. It’s a cerebral experience — the kind of film that demands your full attention. The time loops aren’t neat puzzles but tragic inevitabilities; you can’t fix what’s already happened if the act of trying is what caused it. Watching it now, post-pandemic, the film’s sense of paranoia and fatalism hits harder than ever. On the Grim Dark Scale, 12 Monkeys sits in the same unsettling space as Children of Men — bleak, thoughtful, and disturbingly human. It’s not a film you relax to; it’s one that lingers, whispering what ifs long after the credits fade. 🥃 Pairing: A smoky single malt — complex, introspective, and heavy enough to leave you quiet for a while after the last sip.
- whitney197712 April 2026Man, fuck all y'all don't do this to me I'm a fragile fucking snowflake
- xxzz1829 March 2026As that kid hem?
- mdediego14 March 2026The plot is not great, but this movie is a “must-watch” for a number of reasons. The first is Brad Pitt in a role that really makes him shine. It was the first movie I saw that made me say, “This guy can act.” The second is the whole atmosphere that Terry Gilliam brings to his films, which you can clearly see in 12 Monkeys. Another one is the love story between the main protagonists draws you in, along with the film’s questioning of reality, insanity, and mental institutions.
- henkkr521 November 2025It was okay
- Lasse Viinikainen31 July 2025A classic blend of sci-fi and an unusual cinematography.
- capitanpeso24 November 2025Interesting movie with some pretty good twists. Excellent acting all around.
- stolteclan23 October 2025This is potentially my favourite Terry Gilliam movie. The plot, the action, the acting, the visuals, superb! I found it a shame when they adapted this into a tv series...too much deus ex machina in the tv series.
- mickerdoo9 September 2025Really comes full circle. Suspense of bouncing back from (in)sane. Cool premise. Pitt plays a fun wacko.
- Johan Potgieter18 July 2025Very good. Willis and Pitt give great performances. Like in Fight Club it seems Pitt loves to play the role of a crazy person. He is surely good at it.
- adam31996 July 2025Before he lost his mind. Brilliant, refelective. phillip K Dick adaptionb done very, very well. Bladerunner like
- Das_Lama4 July 2025This movie was intense, weird, and great.
- Baloo Uriza27 March 2025This one's great, though the themes aged poorly.
Twelve Monkeys Trivia
Twelve Monkeys was released on 29 December 1995.
Twelve Monkeys was directed by Terry Gilliam.
Twelve Monkeys has a runtime of 2h 9m.
Twelve Monkeys was produced by Charles Roven.
In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
The key characters in Twelve Monkeys are James Cole (Bruce Willis), Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe), Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt).
Twelve Monkeys is rated 15.
Twelve Monkeys is a Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery film.
Twelve Monkeys has an audience rating of 8.8 out of 10.
Twelve Monkeys had a budget of US$29M.
Twelve Monkeys has made US$168.8M at the box office.