12 Monkeys (1995)

⭐6/10

This is a 90s sci-fi about Bruce Willis getting sent back in time to try and gather evidence for an upcoming apocalypse. However, as he tries to tell people about it, everyone things he's crazy and so he's locked up in a psych ward. I actually love that premise - what would it look like if you had to convince people you're from the future? It also has some interesting thoughts on mental institutions, and how we treat people we think are crazy, medicating them to the point of dysfunction. 

Still, this movie didn't really work for me. First, I hate time travel. While this had some interesting ideas, I still just think it doesn't work. Second, I didn't really understand Willis's character. The whole idea is that he's kinda insane and unable to communicate, but it's unclear why that is. Time travel is clearly hard on the brain, and also he's medicated, and also he grew up in a post-apocolyptic world so maybe he's just socialized in a weird way? It wasn't totally clear, so it was hard to cheer for him, and mostly frustrating. Just say what you mean!! Felt like a 2 hour lesson in the miscommunication trope. 

There was still some stuff to like. People really praise Brad Pitt's performance, and he was great here. I also liked the psychiatrists decent into craziness herself as she's confronted with stuff she can't explain. It's all pretty cool and unique, but I just can't say I enjoyed it. I thought this movie was definitely less than the sum of its parts, I guess.