Film Review: Reviewed By David Parkinson; 4 out of 5

Inspired by Chris Marker's acclaimed 1962 short film La Jetée, this labyrinthine sci-fi thriller was penned by the co-writer of Blade Runner, David Webb Peoples, and his wife, Janet. Yet it's very much the work of Monty Python alumnus Terry Gilliam, who imposes his own pseudo-poetic vision onto a world that is doomed to viral annihilation unless time traveller Bruce Willis can prevent the disaster. Although it was Brad Pitt who landed an Oscar nomination for his twitchy performance as the leader of the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, it is Willis's anguished introvert who holds this gripping, hauntingly atmospheric film together.

Plot Summary

A time traveller from 2035 journeys back to the 1990s to discover the cause of a deadly disease that ravaged the world, only to be thrown into an asylum. He meets a fellow patient who may hold the key to his mission, but the longer he spends in the past, the more he comes to question whether he really is from the future or simply delusional. Terry Gilliam's sci-fi thriller, with Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe and Christopher Plummer.