12 MONKEYS

Even when Terry Gilliam's latest leap into the wild blue of futuristic fantasy is at its most confounding, you leap along with him. Such is the seductive power of his twisted imagination. Whether it's Monty Python, Brazil, Time Bandits or The Fisher King, Gilliam guarantees a thrilling ride. 12 Monkeys is no exception. Bruce Willis, in an eruptive performance of startling emotional intensity, stars as Cole, a prisoner tagged for an experiment that may get him killed. [...]

Gilliam, along with the gifted cinematographer Roger Pratt and production designer Jeffrey Beecroft, fashions a disturbing and dazzling lost world. [...] Pitt is terrific, finding a mad fire in a character that is miles from movie-star glamour. [...] Her growing belief in a man who doesn't trust his own sanity sparks an unexpectedly moving love story. [...]

For all the fun, fright and hypnotic romance that Gilliam delivers, he digs deepest into fatalistic themes that usually scare away the crowds at the box office. Go with Gilliam anyway. Solving the riddle of 12 Monkeys is an exhilarating challenge.

— Peter Travers (Rolling Stone)