12 MONKEYS

(NA, AB, E, LLL, VVV, N, D) Anti-biblical, pagan worldview with an environmental theme where all-powerful man tries to control the world; 14 vulgarities, 9 obscenities & 4 profanities; some graphic violence includes recurring shoot-out at airport, violent outburst at mental institution, two instances of thugs being brutally kicked at & punched, man shot in leg, man punching woman, bloody tooth forcibly pulled out, & man shot in back; 1 vulgar sexual reference; 4 instances of male nudity in naturalistic context; cigarette smoking; and, insect eating & car theft

12 MONKEYS is set in the years 2035 and 1996 where a deadly virus has wiped out 5 billion people. Scientists from the now virus-phobic 21st century send a man, James Cole, back to the year 1996 to find out the source of the virus in the hope of preventing the disaster. The movie is visual and bizarre. The performances from Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt lend well to the macabre setting of the story, but the treatment of the end-of-the-world theme is not biblically-based and very violent.

It is the year 2035. Time travel is the norm, and the population is viral-phobic and obsessed with the idea that they can change history. The scientists of the day choose a criminal by the name of James Cole, played by Bruce Willis, to go back to 1996 to find out the source of a deadly virus. James is lured by a promised pardon in exchange for this dubious task. The time machinery is deficient, and James finds himself in the middle of a World War 1. He makes it to 1996 but is taken into a mental institution. There, he meets the Dr. Kathryn Railly who joins him in searching for the source of the miserable virus. James befriends the raving Jeffrey Goines, played by Brad Pitt, who becomes the surprising link in James' search.

12 MONKEYS is the latest work of famed but controversial director Terry Gilliam. The movie is more bizarre than spell-binding, more visual than coherent. The movie's backdrop is impressive though not lavish. The best of the movie is the final twist in the last segment of the movie. Otherwise, the end-of-the-world premise is not biblical but seen only from a human experience without religious bearings. Some unnecessary violence and male nudity also mar the movie. The moral of the story is that you cannot change time.