The future is history.|Dec. 29, 1995|USA|129 Min.|R
Genre: Mystery;Science;Fiction;Thriller
Description: In 1996, a deadly virus is unleashed, wiping out most of humanity and forcing survivors to live underground. A group called the Army of the Twelve Monkeys is believed to be responsible for the outbreak. In 2035, James Cole, a prisoner in an underground facility beneath Philadelphia, is chosen for a mission to travel back in time and locate the original virus, hoping to aid scientists in developing a cure. Tormented by recurring dreams of an airport chase and shooting, Cole is sent back in time but mistakenly arrives in Baltimore in 1990 instead of 1996. He is arrested and placed in a mental hospital, where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly and fellow patient Jeffrey Goines, who holds extreme environmentalist and anti-corporate views. Cole attempts to convince the doctors that the virus outbreak has already occurred.
After a failed escape attempt, Cole is sedated and locked up but suddenly awakens back in 2035. The scientists interrogate him, playing a distorted message linking the Army of the Twelve Monkeys to the virus. They also show him photos of suspected individuals, including Goines. Cole is sent back in time again but accidentally arrives on a World War I battlefield, where he is shot in the leg before being transported to 1996.
In 1996, Railly delivers a lecture on the Cassandra complex to a group of scientists. During a book signing event, she meets Dr. Peters, who argues that those predicting apocalypse are the sane ones, while humanity’s environmental destruction is the true insanity. Cole, having seen flyers for the event, arrives and kidnaps Railly, forcing her to take him to Philadelphia. They discover that Goines founded the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, but when confronted, Goines denies involvement and claims that Cole himself planted the idea of using a virus, stolen from his virologist father, to wipe out humanity during their 1990 encounter.
Cast director: Terry Gilliam
Cast actor: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, David Morse, Jon Seda, Christopher Meloni, Joey Perillo, LisaGay Hamilton, Matt Ross
Original name: Twelve Monkeys