12 Monkeys

This week on Forgotten Cinema, the Mikes tackle "12 Monkeys", this season's Audience Choice episode and a film that, despite its reputation, just doesn’t click for either of them.

Mike Butler went in hoping his opinion might change this time around. As a big fan of "Brazil", he wanted to connect with Terry Gilliam’s mix of sci-fi and absurdism. Unfortunately, his feelings haven’t shifted since first seeing it decades ago. Both Mike Field and Butler find the performances from Bruce Willis and especially Brad Pitt pushed too far into manic territory, making it hard to buy into the story.

They also struggle with the central relationships and logic of the film. The idea that the doctor would go along with Willis at all, let alone develop romantic feelings for him, feels completely unbelievable. Tonally, the movie seems stuck between wanting to be a serious science fiction story and an absurdist Gilliam nightmare, and it never settles on what it actually wants to be.

While they do appreciate the production design, props, and costumes used for the future sequences, the rest of the film falls flat for them. Still, with "12 Monkeys" being so well regarded by many, the Mikes openly acknowledge that this might be one of those "it's me, not you" moments.

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0:00 - Introduction

2:56 - Film Facts

9:32 - Film Discussion

33:39 - Reviews

39:56 - Who Would You Recommend This To?

42:28 - Why Is This Forgotten?

47:39 - Plugs

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