Terry Gilliam's most mature film to date demands rigorous analysis from the viewer. Add to this the director's grotesquely comic hallmarks, and the resulting film is a complex and rewarding fantasy.
Comment
11/04/02
12 Monkeys (1995)
85
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:48
Fresh:41
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: The plot's a bit of a jumble, but excellent performances and mind-blowing plot twists make 12 Monkeys a kooky, effective experience.
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: In this intriguing science fiction film from director Terry Gilliam, penal colony prisoner James Cole must travel back in time from the year 2035 to find the cause of a virus that killed five... [More]
Starring: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe, Christopher Plummer
Director: Terry Gilliam
Reviews for 12 Monkeys
Top CriticDisorientating, but good performances all round. Will have you thinking for days afterwards.
04/23/03
Top CriticGilliam gives the material a lunatic poetry of his own, but remains impervious to the requirements of narrative pacing.
06/24/06
Top Critic..less an essay on the nature of madness than a crazy person’s poem. It is wild and beautiful and deeply disturbing all at once.
05/09/05
It often seems as though Gilliam is the least prolific of fantastic directors working today (with the possible exception of Alejandro Jodorowsky), but once again, it was worth the wait.
03/10/03
An intoxicating blend of existential SF and unrequited romance.
01/01/00
I'm pleased beyond words to find a movie that cares deeply for its characters even as they fall under the wheels of destiny, instead of killing them just to be clever.
01/01/00
As an entertainment, it appeals more to the mind than to the senses.
01/01/00
Top CriticThe film is intelligently written, and deserves more than its guaranteed cult-film status.
01/01/00
12 Monkeys seems to go down smoothly without compromising anything or dumbing itself down.
05/26/06
Aside from his trademark visual style, Gilliam generally handles the chaos he depicts quite well, and he's come up with a marvelous cast.
01/01/00
Overwrought.
01/01/00
Gilliam has taken on a conventional Hollywood sci-fi thriller with big stars and turned it into his own rough beast.
07/23/07
Dark and somber like Blade Runner, this sci-fi is a spectacular mess, a convoluted film with too many ideas for its own good, blending (among other things) the virus thriller with the post-apocalyptic genre.
08/12/05
The acting is good, and the visuals are sharp. But at two hours long, they should have just settled for six monkeys.
04/17/02
Despite my beef with the interminable convolutions of 12 Monkeys, the film has one major thing going for it: put simply, it's very, very cool.
01/01/00
Latest News for 12 Monkeys
July 20, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Duncan Jones
Duncan Jones has done the impossible -- tell a smart, engaging and entertaining sci-fi story on a modest budget. In Britain. As his debut feature film. No wonder everyone's... More...
May 10, 2007:
Forum Poster Bruce Willis Ain't Cool With Michael Bay
Bruce Willis has been chatting up some lucky web readers over his upcoming reemergence in "Live Free or Die Hard," talking movies and alienating "Armageddon"... More...
January 03, 2007:
Kevin Smith Fulfills His Bruce Willis Dream, Appears in "Die Hard 4"
If you're MySpace friends with "Clerks" man Kevin Smith, you already know that the uber fanboy is a ginormous Bruce Willis fan (OMG he's online now!)...and now, the... More...
October 04, 2006:
Christopher Nolan Discusses "The Prisoner," "Following," and "Dark Knight" Rumors
Christopher Nolan recently held a Q&A session following a screening of his movie "Following," and while he gave only a few vague responses in regards to "The... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube 
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds