12 Monkeys

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12 Monkeys

R

Released Jan 26, 1995

2h 11m

Mystery & Thriller

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

74 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Traveling back in time isn't simple, as James Cole (Bruce Willis) learns the hard way. Imprisoned in the 2030s, James is recruited for a mission that will send him back to the 1990s. Once there, he's supposed to gather information about a nascent plague that's about to exterminate the vast majority of the world's population. But, aside from the manic Jeffrey (Brad Pitt), he gets little in the way of cooperation, not least from medical gatekeepers like Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe).

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Critics Consensus

The plot's a bit of a jumble, but excellent performances and mind-blowing plot twists make 12 Monkeys a kooky, effective experience.

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Ed Potton

Times (UK)

This dystopian time-travelling sci-fi is a reminder that the director can make films that are visually inventive, intellectually engaging and downright exciting.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 12, 2018

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

While all of Gilliam's movies are worth seeing, there's a fair amount of his designer grimness here mixed in with the cabaret comedy.

May 27, 2011

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Variety Staff

Variety

Neither as visually compelling as Brazil nor as emotionally gripping as The Fisher King.

Mar 26, 2009

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Elisa Guimarães

Collider

The fine line between the reasonable and the absurd is at the center of this flawed but gripping story about apocalypses and time-travel.

Rated: B+

Feb 1, 2024

Full Review

D.M. Palmer

Vague Visages

Their aesthetic production is taken at face value, their delusion is validated by the collective imagination...

Nov 8, 2023

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Michael Atkinson

Spin

The movie contemplates the circularities of time, apocalypse culture, and movies themselves... That shouldn't seem like some kind of pop miracle, but it does.

Dec 27, 2022

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Jerry G

Some excellent performances but it's a bit of a nonsense. This isn't a profound insight into .... Blah, blah, unless you're just under high school level.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/25

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Re C

Mind blowing movie!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/14/25

Full Review

Garrett B

The acting, plot and pacing was so slow, boring, and confusing that I stopped watching it halfway. Not worth your time.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/25

Full Review

Joshua M

I'm not the biggest fan of Terry Gillims films but this is a unintentionally Hilarious movie. Brads acting is the best. The movie is all over the place and not my favorite sci fi film but it is interesting...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/10/25

Full Review

Jeremiah C

An intriguing though ultimately middling tale about time travel and predestination that leaves the viewer exactly where he started. Perhaps I would’ve been blown away had I seen this in 1995, but as a full grown adult, I caught on halfway through that it was going to end with the all too tiresome copout of a conclusion: “It was all just a dream.” I hate such endings with my whole heart.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/30/24

Full Review

Dan B

Masterpiece! Forever!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/26/24

Full Review

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Terry Gilliam

Director

Bruce Willis

James Cole

Madeleine Stowe

Kathryn Railly

Brad Pitt

Jeffrey Goines

Christopher Plummer

Dr. Leland Goines

Jon Seda

Jose

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - Explaining to the Doctors

1:59

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - The Great Escape

3:00

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - World War I

2:38

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - Eating a Spider

3:00

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - Jeffrey Reveals His Plan

1:57

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - The Scientists' Offer

1:49

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - Zoo Animals Run Free

1:38

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - Institutionalized With Jeffrey

2:37

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - Plague of Madness

1:57

Twelve Monkeys: Official Clip - Cole Meets Kathryn

2:00

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Synopsis

Traveling back in time isn't simple, as James Cole (Bruce Willis) learns the hard way. Imprisoned in the 2030s, James is recruited for a mission that will send him back to the 1990s. Once there, he's supposed to gather information about a nascent plague that's about to exterminate the vast majority of the world's population. But, aside from the manic Jeffrey (Brad Pitt), he gets little in the way of cooperation, not least from medical gatekeepers like Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe).

Director: Terry Gilliam
Producer: Charles Roven
Screenwriter: Chris Marker, David Webb Peoples, Janet Peoples
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: R (Violence|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 26, 1995, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 8, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $57.1M
Runtime: 2h 11m
Sound Mix: Surround, DTS-ES, DTS, Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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