12 Monkeys ***1/2

Directed by Terry Gilliam, anyone who has seen Brazil will see some similarities between this science fiction thriller and the alternate world that Gilliam created in Brazil. The rust, the consantly dripping machinery and unexpected twists leave you in a heap, bewildered and exhausted, but thoroughly entertained.

In 12 Monkeys, Cole (Bruce Willis), a convict, is sent back in time on a dangerous mission to collect information about a virus that killed 5 billion people in 1996. The remaining humans have retreated to a subteranean world that is evidently safe (although very leaky, steamy, rusty, and filled with valves). Time travel seems to be an inexact technology and he shows up early (1990). He is promptly committed to an insane asylum and the movie takes off from there.

Unlike Brazil, which is entirely entertaining but unexplainable, 12 Monkeys has a clear plot that holds together.