As a science-fiction tale 12 Monkeys is very well executed exploration of the time travel question known as the grandfather paradox.
In terms of movie making I like the Baltimore settings, loved the Philly settings, and was amazed at a film that got the best out of Willis and Pitt, whose roles I usually avoid. They both did their own brand of insane person with aplomb.
Interestingly, when people ask me—as a fight coach and violence writer—what the most realistic violence scenes in cinema are, I point to Willis’ work in 12 Monkeys. From the stick up by the thugs in Philly, to the mental health restraint team, to the beating of the pimp with a phone, Bruce Willis performance as a mental case are the most realistic acts of non-military aggression I have seen in film.
My favorite quotes from the film are:
“Let’s go shopping, the cry of the true lunatic.”
“All I see is dead people.”
“Psychiatry is the latest religion.”
And, yes, the cave man in me liked the leading lady, despite her lack of fleshy curves. Madeleine Stowe is my favorite skinny, cinema babe.
Most of all, 12 Monkeys is a premier dystopian view of man's lot as an occasionally striving gear in a great social machine. If you see The State as your malefactor, and you have not watched 12 Monkeys, do so.
12 Monkeys has got to be one my favorite films ever. Ever. I recently saw the "Black Mirror" series from the BBC and it was very good and well worth watching.
"...Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror is often described as The Twilight Zone for the modern age...".
denofgeek.com/tv/black-mirror/38400/black-mirror-charlie-brooker-s-eerily-accurate-future-visions
James, I read The Hot Zone in 1994, being a water and waster water oprerator, and have taken classes in microbiology, what better way to thin the herd, We have a rich oligarchy, what a great way to rid the planet of the we dirt people. Beware it has been thought of. Genetically engineered bacteria, virus, oh my Ishmael.