“All I see are dead people. Come on”

The irony that Bruce Willis said that in this movie is crazy (if you know, you know).

I have to admit that while 12 Monkeys has been on my watchlist for quite some time now, the only reason I watched it today was that I am currently in the process of making my first-ever short film, and apparently, the behind-the-scenes documentary about this film is extremely informative about the process of making movies. That being said, I was really interested in what I was going to think of the actual film itself, as I knew going in that it was really concept-heavy science fiction, which is totally my thing, but also very complex and oftentimes confusing, which tends to frustrate me fairly often. 12 Monkeys is definitely confusing, but not in a way that makes it a mental test to watch.

Just to get things started, the concept of the movie is inherently really neat and intriguing. The story is about James Cole (Bruce Willis), a convicted felon, who is sent back in time in order to try and figure out how to fix what caused a deadly virus that killed billions of people and made Earth a dystopia. Unfortunately for him, he is sent back to the wrong year, but still has to accomplish his mission, despite the huge obstacle that causes.

And as you probably already assumed just by me saying that this film is confusing, there is a lot of mystery going on here. The title refers to a group that is presumed responsible for the deadly outbreak, and James needs to find out who is truly responsible for everything that happened. This isn’t the only mystery, either, as there are several, and I mean several perplexing scenes that really catch you off guard, but also keep you invested because of the questions that arise from them. The film is very subjective about some of these mysteries, which is why it has earned the title of being one of the more confusing movies ever made. But as I pretty much said earlier, thankfully, the intrigue never gets lost in the confusion.

One of the reasons why this is the case is the way 12 Monkeys was shot. I am completely unfamiliar with Terry Gilliam’s work, but just after having watched this, I can easily see all of the Wes Anderson comparisons. Their works are entirely different, but the comparisons between one another are drawn from the fact that their visual styles and way of telling stories are so unique and different from anything else you’ll see. Some of Wes Anderson’s work (not all of it, but some) is lost a little bit in that and can definitely be categorized as “style over substance,” but 12 Monkeys has a perfect balance of both. Since this is a very deep and complicated story, the visuals really only serve to add to that instead of being simply flashy and bold. A lot of weird lens distortions, camera tricks, and Dutch angles are used in a way that properly serves the narrative being told. For strictly the cinematography, it’s quite an interesting situation because there isn’t anything here that could be categorized as “stunning,” yet it still has such a distinct look that it truly is. It’s very realistic and dirty-looking, a perfect choice for the movie.

And even if this didn’t have the unique style that it has with its cinematography, it would still be a very fascinating-looking movie. This honestly has to be one of the most impressive movies ever made, because it completely transports you into an entirely new world, yet the production budget was only twenty-nine million dollars. It actually heavily reminded me of a movie that was released a few years ago, The Creator, another movie that looked far more expensive than it actually was. Even aside from that being impressive, the sets, costumes, and overall look of everything can be described with the same word that I used to describe the cinematography: “unique.” Even people who don’t like this movie (which I would completely understand) will still remember the imagery from it.

Since mystery is such a big part of the story, I’m not going to go into a huge amount of detail, but I will say that the mysteries are mostly satisfying by the end. This has an extremely memorable and effective ending that will really leave you thinking afterwards, which only makes the lasting impact from everything beforehand even grander. That being said, there are some story elements, not many, but some, that don’t work as well as the ending, which is where I’ll get into the mixed.

While the complexity of the story is what makes it so interesting, it definitely does leave you lost at some points. I’m sure all of the answers are there if you really dive deep, but this is inevitably one of those movies that requires a couple of rewatches to fully grasp everything. Thankfully, it isn’t something that takes you out of the experience, but can certainly put you at a distance at times, and for some, that can be a downside. It is something that probably did hinder me from rating this even higher, but I was already enjoying it so much that it didn’t affect me that much. Thinking about it, this probably should be a negative, but I’m still not entirely sure that if I did understand everything better, I would like it even more than I already do.

The only big criticism I can throw at 12 Monkeys is that the characters definitely aren’t the strong point of the movie. Along with Bruce Willis’s character, Madeleine Stowe plays a psychiatrist named Kathryn Railly, and while both deliver really solid performances, neither of their characters is super compelling, hardly at all. While the mystery surrounding James Cole is really interesting, it also comes at the expense of true character depth. Is it a sacrifice worth making for the story? Yes, but worth mentioning nonetheless. Kathryn Railly, on the other hand, really only serves to further James’s character development, without having anything significant to write home about her on her own.

If you are looking for a really weird, trippy science fiction movie, this is definitely one for you.