Interstellar: 10 Superior Philosophical Sci-Fi Films
9. Twelve Monkeys
When it comes to mind-bending sci-fi films, Nolan should've looked as much to Terry Gilliam as Kubrick. Where the director of 2001 only had one space-based film under his belt, the former Monty Python animator and writer has formed an eclectic and eccentric career making movies that deal with esoteric scientific concepts coupled with big philosophical questions, from the 1984-esque dystopia-disguised-as-utopia Brazil to the ethical concerns about time travel that Time Bandits brings up (okay, not really, but that is an excellent film, no?). Nowhere is that more clear than in Twelve Monkeys. Loosely inspired by the short French film La Jetée, Twelve Monkeys explores similar ideas about fate, predestination and humanitys ability to leave any sort of lasting impression on the world. Bruce Willis is continually sent back from a ravaged future Earth to try and stop the plague that will eventually destroy humanity; except when hes back in the past, he gets committed to a mental asylum, and has to conspire with Brad Pitts radical animal rights activist to escape. Except Pitt might be the guy who accidentally unleashes the disease which will doom his species...or is it an accident? Twelve Monkeys keeps audiences guessing.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
