If You’re Tired Of Sci-Fi Movies With Bad Endings, Watch This Excellent 1995 Time Travel Film That Sticks The Landing

It can be hard to find sci-fi movies and TV that don’t completely dissolve by their endings, but one 1995 movie starring Bruce Willis held its nerve. Case in point, from Lost to Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, J.J. Abrams has divided audiences, with some claiming his work is some of the best ever made and others loudly proclaiming its rapid descent into nonsense as each project nears completion. However, the same can’t be said for one of Bruce Willis’ best sci-fi movies, artfully directed by Terry Gilliam and released in 1995.

This movie is the brilliant 12 Monkeys and is probably Gilliam’s best, although Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Monty Python and the Holy Grail are also in the running. While the 2007 picture I Am Legend ended with the most unsatisfying character death, and A.I. Artificial Intelligence had huge scale and potential, but an ending with very flimsy justification, 12 Monkeys is a rare sci-fi movie that sticks the landing. From 12 Monkeys’ timeline and consistent approach to time travel to Willis and Brad Pitt’s convincing performances, the ending actually works.

12 Monkeys Is A Sci-Fi Movie With An Ending That’ll Leave You Satisfied

12 Monkeys Has A Convincing Conclusion

Amidst a sea of sci-fi movies with premises too ambitious to resolve, 12 Monkeys stands out above the crowd. The movie opens with a sH๏τ of a child and a woman lamenting the gunning down of a man in an airport and fades to Bruce Willis in a cell. This smart introduction sets up the rest of the movie for success, enabling it to end neatly with a perfectly circular ending. In the end, 12 Monkeys circles back to its opening scene, having gradually explained it.

This may not be immediately noticeable, given all the twists and turns that make this one of the best dystopian sci-fi movies of the 1990s. It is easy to forget just how the movie starts. Viewers get quickly absorbed into the epic scale, switching between fast-paced and тιԍнтly sH๏τ action scenes and more relaxed parts of the saga that accurately evince the pᴀssage of time. But the movie does explain its opening sH๏τ smartly in its last scenes, leaving viewers reeling with an emotional sucker-punch of a reveal.

12 Monkeys is based on La Jetée, a French featurette released in 1962.

12 Monkeys shows Willis’ character getting more and more disgruntled as it goes on, occasionally blurring the line between dream and reality. It would have been all too easy for the movie to end without confirming which was which. Instead, it goes for gold, confirming who gets sH๏τ at the start, and exactly what happens to the main character, concluding his story completely. More than that, the appearance of his boss at the end confirms that he was able to carry out his mission. This is the bittersweet stuff of Hollywood perfection, given the tragic story.

12 Monkeys’ Depiction Of Time Travel Is One Of The Best In Sci-Fi

There Is Logic Behind Time Travel In 12 Monkeys

Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt talking in a hospital in Twelve Monkeys.

12 Monkeys’ depiction of time travel is one of the best in cinema. In its circularity, it aptly summarizes what most time travel movies struggle to portray — the paradox inherent to time travel. 12 Monkeys successfully examines the question of whether or not someone can be in two places at once. The movie implies that the child in the opening sH๏τ is Willis’ character (James Cole) by how it cuts to him and proceeds to display his long-suffering, traumatized persona. But it becomes clear that Cole is also the man being gunned down.

This is oddly obscured at the start. In 12 Monkeys’ opening scene, the adult Cole and his lover, Dr. Railly, are both wearing wigs, as they are on the run. This hides them from the young Cole and the viewer, enabling the movie to start in media res, fully explain why it started that way by its end, and stun viewers with a jaw-dropping time-travel reveal. The wigs are Gilliam’s dream plot device, preventing the opening scene from giving the game away. One of those rare movies where everything comes full circle by the end, 12 Monkeys nails time travel.

Related Posts

“With An Homage Like This, Who Needs Insults?” Why The Inspiration Behind John Carpenter’s Most Underrated Movie Hated It

“With An Homage Like This, Who Needs Insults?” Why The Inspiration Behind John Carpenter’s Most Underrated Movie Hated It

John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness was an homage to the legendary sci-fi screenwriter Nigel Kneale – who then openly bashed the film. Prince of Darkness came towards…

Sylvester Stallone Named His Favorite Action Movie He Starred In & You Won’t Believe His Choice

Sylvester Stallone Named His Favorite Action Movie He Starred In & You Won’t Believe His Choice

Sylvester Stallone has cemented himself as one of the greatest action movie stars of all time, but his choice for his favorite action movie of his own…

10 Movies That Hit Harder When You’ve Already Seen The Sequel

10 Movies That Hit Harder When You’ve Already Seen The Sequel

Some great movie sequels have the potential to make the original movie look even better in retrospect, honoring their legacy while adding more layers of intrigue. The…

Ryan Gosling’s New Sci-Fi Movie Is His Chance At Redemption After Surprising 1 Million Disappointment

Ryan Gosling’s New Sci-Fi Movie Is His Chance At Redemption After Surprising $181 Million Disappointment

Ryan Gosling’s upcoming science fiction movie Project Hail Mary could redeem one of the actor’s recent box office disappointments. Anticipation is high for Project Hail Mary, which…

Ben Affleck’s 4M Thriller With Scene-Stealing тιтus Welliver Role Is Leaving Netflix Soon

Ben Affleck’s $154M Thriller With Scene-Stealing тιтus Welliver Role Is Leaving Netflix Soon

A brilliant Ben Affleck thriller is leaving Netflix soon, meaning that audiences should make sure to catch it before it’s gone. Ben Affleck’s best movies show off…

Dune 3 May Be Taking The Opposite Approach Denis Villeneuve Had With First Two Movies

Dune 3 May Be Taking The Opposite Approach Denis Villeneuve Had With First Two Movies

Denis Villeneuve is currently working on Dune: Part Three, and while the film is exciting, it may be taking a different approach than the director’s previous Dune…