I won't beat around the bush here. Mental divergence + science-fiction + the brain of ex-Python, Terry Gilliam + Hollywood money = a film hitherto unexplored by anyone and a dream come true for this genre fan. My favourite Post-Apocalyptic movie? This is it, baby! Along with almost every other Terry Gilliam film (particularly Brazil) Twelve Monkeys belongs in a time capsule of 20th century movies labeled I Dare You To Name Another Film That is More Visually Striking. However, this is neither just a post-apocalypse movie nor a piece of eye candy. It deals with a number of things -- lunacy, dreams, death and re-birth and essentially, a perception of what the world is (or isn't).

Twelve Monkeys begins by telling us that in 1996, a deadly virus was released into the air by an apocalyptic nut, which killed off the majority of the human race. If you survived this, you live underground, stuck in a stinky prison-like compound. There, you sleep in cheap hammocks while elite scientists wear clear plastic as fashion accessories. Above ground, the animals once again rule the world. Lions traipse atop shopping malls and grizzly bears roam the streets. But don't fret -- you can 'volunteer' to go above ground to retrieve samples and risk being eaten by a bear as well as travel back in time in attempt to retrieve the original virus, so a vaccine can be made! If you do a good job, you can receive a pardon.

James Cole (Bruce Willis) involuntarily 'volunteers' to seek out as much information as he can about the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, the alleged source of the virus. Along the way he encounters a psychiatrist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and mental patient Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt). In their company, Cole soon becomes unsure whether he's really from the future or if he really is just an insane whacko.

There is much repetitive, freaky (and surely intentional) imagery splattered throughout this movie -- take the time machine for example, which resembles a giant condom being inserted into a tube. It is one of those movies that requires multiple viewings. And inevitably, as in any time travel movie, the more times you watch it, the more plot holes you will discover that will leave you scratching your head. But instead of dwelling on these, I prefer to single out what is the lacking factor in even the best sci-fi films -- the emotional performances all the principle actors.

Actually, that's not entirely accurate either. I have a love/hate thing for Brad Pitt's (Golden Globe winning) performance in Twelve Monkeys. He makes these incessant hand gestures every time he opens his mouth that mostly make him look like a rapper, and it drives me nuts. I feel like he should be hollering "Mix Master Pitt is in da house!" rather than a slew of delusional rants. But maybe that was his intention -- you don't know whether to love or hate Jeffrey Goines. Even though he's a deranged paranoiac, he remains very charismatic, in that Charles Manson kinda way.

Hmmm... to tell you the truth, Twelve Monkeys is probably not exactly the ground-breaking work of art that I trump it to be. It did not incite people to move to a remote shack in Oregon far from society where it's safe, nor did it win Bruce Willis any acting awards. It doesn't even yield a very hopeful ending. Still, regardless of its inconsistencies, it does contain (among other things) one element for everyone to enjoy and analyze over. Monkeys! In fact, one monkey sports both a video camera and a sandwich attached to its head. If that isn't enough to intrigue you, I don't know what more I can say.

DROOL FACTOR: Bruce Willis is doped up on Thorazine during a significant portion of the film. This causes a very slack jaw, which in turn makes him drool a lot. If Bruce Willis' saliva doesn't get you off, you also have a very exuberant Brad Pitt as an eye-twitching psychotic.

GROSS-OUT FACTOR: See 'Drool Factor'. There is also some nasty teeth pulling.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Although the movie centres on a ranting and raving Bruce Willis, Madeline Stowe's Dr. Railly is his multi-dimensional counterpart. She plays an ever rational doctor who has to guide the audience through the insanity, even if she herself is lost and at the mercy of events she can't understand. Another interesting character is the only female scientist (Carol Florence) on the team that decides to send Cole back in time. Some people forget that it is Railly, not Cole, who solves the virus mystery, and it is specifically the female scientist who's left with the capability to change the future.

-- Julie Ng

Twelve Monkeys is currently available on video and DVD.

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