Okay, so finally, there was the chance to catch this new television series that there have been so many commercials about.
12 Monkeys.
Expectations must have been high based on the relentless promotion alone. That is not surprising, because the original movie was simply brilliant. It was a provocative film that was highly influenced by Chris Marker's 1962 science fiction film La Jetée, an apocalypse themed film that was done mostly with striking black and white still pictures. The narration was what was important with that film.
Of course, the movie 12 Monkeys was certainly not done either with still pictures or in black and white. Yet, it generated the same kind of thought-provoking reaction. It is an action movie, yes. But certainly not a garden variety action thriller, like so many others out there. This was a film that juggled a lot of themes simultaneously. It explored deep questions, including sanity and insanity in popular culture. It tackled scientific possibilities with time travel, and the philosophical ramifications of doing so and changing the future (or attempts towards changing the future actually unwittingly becoming part of that future).
It is a movie that seems so strange to begin with, and it hardly makes any sense for the first...oh, half an hour or so. you do not know what to believe, or what is going on, really. Is Cole actually traveling through time, from an apocalyptic, post-plague world to the past (which is actually the present of when the film was made)? Or, is he "mentally divergent" as is the original diagnosis by Dr. Kathryn Railly (very capably played by Madeleine Stowe, who's hard not to fall in love with in this one)?
That movie was a breath of fresh air from most mind-numbing action films, and proved very provocative and imaginative on so many levels. It is one of those rare movies that I find myself watching quite frequently, and almost each time, there is something new that I pay attention to, something perhaps missed in previous viewing. Somehow, it is one of those movies that seems impossible to get tired of.
Given all of that, it is not surprising, then, that the movie is ranked from IMBD as one of the top 250 movies of all time. It ranks #211 and, frankly, should have been rated much, much higher. (Here is the link to the list: http://www.imdb.com/chart/top?tt0114746&ref_=tt_awd). Personally, I think it could easily have been in the top 50, and possibly in the top 25. It features some of the best acting that Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt have ever done, and each in one of the most unique acting rolls possible that stretched their acting abilities to the limit. Yet, they made it work. Madeleine Stowe, as already mentioned, is incredible in the movie as well.
Again, the movie has everything. It has plenty of action, but it also has plenty of intelligence to it. It has drama, it has romance, and although it is a science-fiction movie, it feels reminiscent at times of an older time with movies in particular. It even has plenty of funny moments, yet these absolutely do not get in the way or detract from the overall quality of the film itself, but rather enhances the overall strength.
So, with all of that to live up to, how did the actual series premiere (and the second episode, which was available online and through On Demand until noon yesterday) compare?
Well, let me just say right off the bat: the emphasis is a lot more heavily focused on action. There are philosophical questions that the series explores, but I personally did not get the sense that these were as "serious" as in the original movie. Speaking of serious, the television series feels (again, to me) like it takes itself very seriously, as there was absolutely no humorous moments to be had in either episode.
That reminds me a little of the Star Wars prequels which, in reality, were kind of Star Wars sequels technologically speaking, but which did not have the same kind of impact and attraction that the original trilogy had. Something was lost in the translation. The humor was gone (or rather, in the case of the Star Wars prequels, geared towards a much, much younger audience of toddlers, and at the expense of all other audiences). And the acting made the viewer long for the days of old with the original trilogy actors (Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hammell).
Similarly, 12 Monkeys made me long for the acting of Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, and Brad Pitt, who had a great chemistry on the silver screen that makes this television series pale by way of comparison. I have to admit that each of those characters were far more likable and believable in their respective roles, although they also set the bar almost impossible high.
That said, after reading a review earlier this week (and I published a blog entry centered on that review), I have to say that this series premiere was not nearly as bad as that review suggested. Keeping in mind that this is a television series, which means it will not be as necessarily loaded with things as the movie, it was not bad. Again, there was not as much focus on the intellectual questions, yet all of the elements were slowly coming into place, and there was a measure of suspense.
In other words, there is more than enough there to keep the viewer intrigued, and tuning in for more. My gut feeling is that this will be a fairly successful series, although nothing like, say, the phenomenal success of The Walking Dead.
Still, as far as television goes, this series has a bit more to offer than most mindless action series have, and far more than most ScyFy channel shows have in general. On IMBD, the rating for the television series was actually higher at 8.2 than it was for the movie, at 8.1. I know it's early, but still, that's ridiculous. The tv series simply cannot compare with the movie, which frankly, should have gotten a much higher rating.
Overall, however, I enjoyed watching the premiere, although admittedly struggled not to try and compare it (almost inevitably unfavorably) to the movie. Trying to keep in mind that there will be obvious differences and degrees of intensity, I tried to judge this for what it is, and not as some kind of updated version of the movie, or anything.
There were some differences, and some things in the series premiere were actually probably explained better than the movie - particularly the invention of the time machine, which scientists in the future discovered from a more advanced (and obviously highly-funded) experiment from the dead world when over 7 billion people still inhabited the world. That made more sense on the surface than the mysterious circumstances of the invention of the time machine in the movie, admittedly.
Also, Dr. Kathryn Railly seems all too easily convinced that Cole is a time traveler in this series. In the movie, she agonizes over it, and finally overcomes her own understandable reluctance, mostly because she discovers a bullet from World War I that Cole was shot with. But Cole mentions that he is a time traveler, and Railly hardly seems to challenge this. There are things that truly convince her later, but she hardly seems to agonize over it, even though she mentions (almost in passing) that she lost her job over it because everyone thinks that she is crazy. With a television series that has a lot more time to offer than a movie, I would have thought that they would have worked a little harder to show us her slowly overcoming her own disbelief, like they did in the movie.
Still, for whatever the weaknesses, this series looks intriguing enough to keep watching! And that, to me, should be construed as a compliment!
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