Sep '19
Isn't it funny how often the year 1997 is used in dystopian cinema? On August 29th, 1997, Skynet launched the nukes that killed 3 billion people. In 1997, a virus wipes out 5 billion people in 12 Monkeys. In 1997, Snake Plissken has to rescue the president in Escape from New York. In 1997, Los Angeles is a ghetto mess in Predator 2. In 1997, Turbo Kid has to fight a tyrant in the wasteland. What a year, huh?
Besides the year, Terminator and 12 Monkeys are almost the same movie. After a massive population loss, a guy from a dreary future travels back in time to take back the future. He is apprehended and doubted by authority figures, he falls in love with a reluctant heroine, and he's caught in a time loop wherehe dies in the end
And reminiscent to T2, our protagonists end up in a mental institution at one point or another. Also, both movies eventually got tv shows years later. Either way, I think both of these are phenomenal movies.
Besides the year, Terminator and 12 Monkeys are almost the same movie. After a massive population loss, a guy from a dreary future travels back in time to take back the future. He is apprehended and doubted by authority figures, he falls in love with a reluctant heroine, and he's caught in a time loop where
And reminiscent to T2, our protagonists end up in a mental institution at one point or another. Also, both movies eventually got tv shows years later. Either way, I think both of these are phenomenal movies.
I have different feelings about 12 Monkeys. I have seen it a bunch of times, by choice, and I do like a lot of things about it, and I definitely appreciate the effort that went into it. I am not always a massive fan of how Terry Gilliam approaches things, but I can appreciate that he spends a lot of time thinking everything over, and I have to support that.... but, I really hate how they wrecked that beautiful song in the end credits, it makes me want to #$$%^&?! cry every time I hear that song now. Also, just to try to clarify what I was saying before, I don't always like the aesthetics of the world he creates. I don't know, it just doesn't really do it for me, and it rubs me the wrong way. It grates on me. Something about how people look, and the squalor of the settings... I just don't enjoy looking at it. I don't always have this sort of reaction to scifi or horror movies, I usually just hope there are a fair number of abruptly severed heads, as you know. But, in this case, something about the way he presents the world just bugs me. Argh.