10 Movies That Only Make Sense At The End

Terry Gilliam's brilliantly brain-breaking sci-fi action classic follows a convict, James Cole (Bruce Willis), who is sent back in time from 2035 to 1996 in order to discover the origins of an humanity-annihilating virus.

That might seem relatively simple for the standards of a time travel movie, but things quickly go wrong for Cole when he materialises in 1990 instead of 1996, after which the very notions of time and causality are fed through Gilliam's singularly surreal wringer.

While the film does admittedly leave plenty up for interpretation regarding the possible success of the mission, it does make one fact abundantly clear: Cole was doomed from the start.

The ending reveals that the disturbing dreams Cole has been experiencing - of a man being shot to death at an airport - are in fact echoes of his own eventual demise, which was witnessed by Cole's own younger self.

It's certainly an "Oh s**t!" moment for the viewer, even if fans continue to debate the precise outcome of Cole's quest 25 years on.