The whole point was that you COULDN'T change the future.  They do make that clear early on and Bruce Willis says it several times.  They weren't trying to stop it from happening, because they couldn't.  They were trying to locate the origin of the virus, so that they could get an un-mutated version of the virus.  That is why she said she was in "insurance" because they were trying to develop an antidote that would allow them to return to the surface back in the future.

This is, in my opinion the BEST handling of Time Travel in film because you can't change the future when travelling to the past.  Everything they tried to do (the voice mail, the spray-painted message, etc.) simply led to the evidence that they had in the future. There is no paradox caused by them stopping the virus before it started, so that they would never have sent someone back to stop it, so they wouldn't have stopped it, and so on and so forth.  This shows more that time and events are fixed and you can't change them. Soooooo well done.  Even better on a re-watch.

This might have been the first film to hint what a versatile and good actor Brad Pitt is. I'd only seen him in Legends Of The Fall and Thelma and Louise before. Might still be my favourite performance by Pitt.

A lot of people will recommend Brazil now, but I'd like to push for Fisher King. It's more of a modern fairy tale, but also with great performances by Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams. It's an underrated gem.

Shanelle: I like to look at things from a film maker’s perspective.

Shanelle (5 minutes later): This is a butt movie!

The brilliant thing about not having seen Vertigo before watching 12 Monkeys is this: when you've watched Vertigo, you can come back to 12 Monkeys and see a whole new meaning in the fact that Vertigo is used in the story, and then when Bruce Willis says... "The film is the same every time, but you're different" - you'll know what he says is true.

This was the first movie my husband and I watched together on our first date. Outside of my sentimental attachment to this movie, I also really enjoy it. I love time travel and post apocalyptic movies and shows.
Great reaction as always!
I 2nd any requests for The Fisher King.

This movie really blew me away in ‘95.  Not a fan of Fear and Loathing, but loved 12 Monkeys.

I really like that you say when you don’t like a movie and why.  Separates you from a lot of other reviews and to me gives me more reason to watch.  Keep up the good work.

The chief psychiatrist at the hospital was played by Frank Gorshin who was The Riddler in the 60s Batman TV series.

My first exposure to Terry Gilliam were the movies "Time Bandits" and "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen."  Although those two are very different from this movie, Brazil, and Fear & Loathing.  But it cannot be denied that Terry Gillian has a very particular style about him that's easy to identify.  I think it comes from his animation background and odd sense of humor.  To me, him and Paul Verhoeven are the easiest directors to spot, due to their filming style and inclusions of themes.

You so need to do more Terry Gilliam: "Brazil", "Time Bandits", ....
He is such an awesome and unique filmmaker

This movie is a masterpiece! One of my favorites! However, it did take me a few watchings to entirely grasp the big picture, so to speak. Also, this was the first time I saw Brad Pitt be the character and not just a good looking face. I kinda suspected you wouldn't like the way it was shot. But still a great reaction! <3<3<3

This was the first movie that I saw in the theater where I immediately wanted to come back in and watch it again. So good!

You post way more often now, you are spoiling us. Thanks.

I saw this movie when it came out and didn’t  like it too much, but saw it again on a couple occasions and really liked it as I understood it more and appreciated the performances- esp B Pitt! Fast forward to early 2020, the first day that our community went on Covid lockdown, not knowing if we were all going to be wiped out by a deadly, unstoppable virus, I went home from work and watched this movie.  

I might need help… 😅

This movie is an underrated gem!

“GET OUT OF MY CHAIR!!!”
I love this movie so much, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis and Madeline Stowe all give career best performances in my opinion.👍

Fear & Loathing and 12 Monkeys are two of my favourites, easy Top 10 Movies, all genres. Terry Gilliam also directed The Fisher King, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Time Bandits, Brazil and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, 4 actors were used as the lead character in Imaginarium because Heath Ledger died during production, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell also played the Tony character. Terry hasn't made a bad movie to be fair, any one of the movies I mentioned are worth reacting to.

This movie is great! Terry Gilliam's weird retro-futuristic aesthetic is put to perfect use, and strong performances from an epic cast make this a classic. Best time-travel movie ever!!

the little kid was him.  the film is based on a landmark french film from the early 60s 'La Jetee' that is about a man who witnesses his own death, because of time travel.  One of the premises of the film is that if you had time travel you would not be able to change anything.

The brilliance of Gilliam, especially in 12 Monkeys is that he always gives clues and references to what is to come but YOU MUST OBSERVE and pay attention to all that's being said and shown. Though the plot seems complex and the film is filled with unusual imagery, there is never any filler and unnecessary moments. Each scene reveals something about the stories narrative. It is designed to make you feel unsure about whether he's actually crazy or telling the truth as the puzzle pieces start to fall in place as the movie progresses. The use of the word KEY throughout is a clever fun motif and love the little "dead people' dialog that references Bruce's 1999 film yet to come "The Sixth Sense" which is like an actual premonition itself. hmmm? But what I love about Gilliam is that his films are not predictable. He does not spoon feed but challenges his audience to be "Good Observers" (a trait of Bruce's character, Cole, which is beneficial in his quest to save the people in the future from their plight. "You cannot change the past", is mentioned several times throughout the film, but you can change the future. Many time travel film miss that point which create flaws within their stories. I hope you can adjust to Gilliams filmmaking style because the style is actually beneficial to the atmosphere & narrative of the story itself.