Bruce Willis had a great career. Especially in the beginning, he also appeared in more quirky films for which he is probably least known. One of his best films is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie with Brad Pitt, which already showed in 1995 that Bruce Willis is a good actor.
Which film is it about? In 1988, Bruce Willis became a celebrated action star with Die Hard, and the role as an action hero followed him through most of his career. Occasionally, especially early on, Bruce Willis also experimented in other genres, showcasing that he can do more than just be the cool action hero. One of these is The Sixth Sense, which almost didn’t happen.
He also appeared in some sci-fi films. One of his best is 12 Monkeys, in which he co-stars with Brad Pitt in an unusual time travel story.
You can find a trailer for the film here:
Not just a simple sci-fi story
What is 12 Monkeys about? In 2035, a large part of humanity has been wiped out by a virus that has contaminated the air. Therefore, the remaining people live underground.
To fight the virus, scientists send willing criminals back to the year 1990 to find out what kind of virus it is. One of them is James Cole, played by Bruce Willis. However, due to his unusual behavior, he ends up in a psychiatric clinic in 1990.
What makes 12 Monkeys so good? Both the vision of the future and the depiction of the past by director Terry Gilliam are quirky and unusual. The camera angles and the portrayal of Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis ensure that you don’t always believe the protagonist and even begin to doubt whether James really comes from the future. Like the protagonist, you eventually also feel trapped and isolated.
The big highlight is primarily Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. Willis plays beautifully reserved, and the increasingly growing despair of his character is portrayed credibly. Brad Pitt is virtually the opposite of Bruce Willis. He is presented from the outset as a crazed young man, but there seems to be more to him than one initially believes.
Combined with the hypnotic soundtrack, a sci-fi world is created that remains unique to this day, because it seems so isolated and artificial, even though it is supposed to be the 90s.
How is 12 Monkeys rated? On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 88% based on 74 reviews. The same result is given by over 250,000 user reviews. Financially, 12 Monkeys was a great success. With a budget of 29 million US dollars, the film earned nearly 170 million US dollars according to IMDb.
Although Bruce Willis became known for worse action films towards the end of his career, he appeared in many brilliant films throughout his career. The 7 best of them are listed in a ranking by MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes: The 7 best films with Bruce Willis ranked
