Bruce Willis' best sci-fi movies, the 90s classic helped match and further the standard for onscreen time travel stories. It's one of those movies that can be watched several times and a new wrinkle can be spotted on each occasion.

The ending of 12 Monkeys could arguably be described as the beginning, with the time loop teased throughout the movie revealed in all its glory. Willis' performance as convict James Cole brilliantly helps sell the illusion of being displaced in time. Cole isn't one of Willis' traditional action heroes but instead, he offers something different. The film always keeps its audience guessing in very creative ways. The finer points of the movie's timeline could be (and have been) debated for decades, but certain facets are much more absolute.

12 Monkeys' Timeline From Cole's Perspective

This is how the events of 12 Monkeys are shown (for the most part)

As 12 Monkeys' main character, James Cole's perspective is acknowledged most prominently throughout the movie. His journey through the timeline may seem linear to him, but he quickly becomes disorientated regarding what counts as the past, present, and future. Beginning in 2035, Cole is sent back to the 90s to gather intel on the virus that will almost destroy the human race, forcing those who remain to retreat underground in order to survive. Cole's arc is very back-and-forth, which makes him something of an enigma in the eras he visits.

The reveal of Cole's "dream" actually being his past is a brilliant and mind-bending twist when it all comes together.

As well as visiting two separate years in the 1990s, Cole's temporal mission takes him to an unspecified year in World War I, but each excursion is separated by a return to the movie's dystopian future to catch his superiors up on the situation. Cole's existence is so complex, and one could say massively coincidental, that he even finds himself in the same location, at the same moment in time, while being two drastically different ages. The reveal of Cole's "dream" actually being his past is a brilliant and mind-bending twist when it all comes together.

1996

Cole watches his older self being shot down by airport security and sees Dr. Railly in a blonde wig.
This would go on to haunt his dreams for the rest of his life, and he would forget it actually happened in the real world.

2035

In his cell, Cole discusses "volunteer duty" with Jose, his fellow prisoner.
Cole is sent to the surface to look for clues about the Army of the 12 Monkeys.
He is sent back in time (with the target of 1996) to gather intel on the virus that will wipe out most of the human race in 1997.

1990

Willis' character is arrested and meets Madeleine Stowe's Dr. Kathryn Railly.
Cole is institutionalized, believed to be mentally unwell due to his stories about the future.
12 Monkeys' main character tries to report to his superiors via telephone but realizes he's been sent back 6 years too far and the system isn't yet in place.
Brad Pitt's Jeffrey Goins introduces himself and helps Cole escape.
Cole's breakout is thwarted and he is restrained.

2035

The tracking chip in Cole's tooth is used to recall him from 1990.
He's played a recovered and distorted voicemail message, believed by his jailers to be from him in the future.
Cole is dispatched again, with another attempt to land in 1996.

World War I (1914-1918)

During an unspecified year of WWI, Cole materializes.
He spots an injured Jose and is shot in the leg.

1996

Cole lands in 1996, although how or when isn't shown (the freshness of his bullet wound suggests a recent change in setting).
Dr. Railly is taken hostage by Cole and the pair investigate the Army of the 12 Monkeys.
Cole confronts Jeffrey about the perceived plan to release a virus but is chased from the house.

2035

Cole is recalled to the future again.
After another debrief, he is dispatched to the past.

1996

Dr. Railly now believes Cole, but he briefly believes himself to be hallucinating the future.
Cole removes the trackers in his teeth so he can't be recalled back to 2035.
Dr. Railly leaves the answerphone message once believed to be from Cole.
The Army of the 12 Monkeys frees all the animals from the zoo.
Cole and Dr. Railly wear disguises, causing Cole to realize his "dream" is actually a memory from his childhood.
They head to the airport.
Jose appears at the airport and confronts Cole, telling him he has to kill the man who plots to release the virus.
Cole is shot dead by airport security, watched by his younger self, as the older Cole tries and fails to take down the movie's true villain.

Bruce Willis' 12 Monkeys character is spoken to throughout by a disembodied voice who addresses Cole as "Bob." The voice is shown to belong to a homeless man in 1996, but the movie never really explains the voice's true origin, nor its purpose or motivations. However, the voice seems to travel with Cole through time, and always be up to speed with what Wills' character has just done, is doing, and is about to do.

12 Monkeys' Timeline Explained In Chronological Order

James Coles' perspective isn't the only way to view the 12 Monkeys timeline

As with some of the other best time travel movies, 12 Monkeys' events can be perceived in multiple ways. While the most logical way to follow the story is through the eyes of the protagonist, it can be an interesting exercise to lay out the events in the order they happened in the timeline at large. This way, the experiences of other characters can be ed for, which adds an extra flavor to the narrative.

Cole's story is the only one that intersects with itself, so how he experiences the events of 12 Monkeys is relatively circular.

Cole's story is the only one that intersects with itself, so how he experiences the events of 12 Monkeys is relatively circular. By stepping outside Willis' character and taking in the timeline in an unbiased and logical way, that particular obstacle is all but removed. Everything becomes far more objective, even if there are some cerebral puzzles to solve as a result.

World War I (1914-1918)

This is the first time Cole appears in the timeline.
He is shot in the leg and unknowingly photographed as he reaches for Jose.

James Cole is born

12 Monkeys doesn't show this, but he is born roughly ten years before 1990.

1990

Cole has his time in the mental institution. At this point, he hasn't yet experienced the WWI scene.
Dr. Railly recognizes Cole but doesn't know where from.
Cole vanishes after being restrained in a sealed room.

1996

Cole materializes with a bullet in his leg from WWI.
He sleeps rough for a while before spotting Dr. Railly's picture and seeks her out.
Dr. Railly gives her seminar.
The movie's true villain (Dr. Peters) appears and speaks with her at a book g.
Cole hides in Dr. Railly's car and holds her hostage.
They look into the Army of the 12 Monkeys.
Cole vanishes again after he visits Jeffrey's house.
Dr. Railly spots Cole in the photograph taken of him during his time in WWI.
She continues to investigate the Army of the 12 Monkeys.
Cole returns, confused about whether the future is part of his reality.
He removes the chips in his teeth to avoid being recalled to 2035.
Cole and Dr. Railly go to the airport in disguise.
He realizes the blonde woman in his dream was her all along.
The Army of the 12 Monkeys releases the zoo animals.
Young Cole arrives at the airport at some point before them.
Jose confronts Cole at the airport.
Dr. Peters infects the first person with his virus.
Cole is killed by airport security as his younger self watches.
Dr. Peters boards the plane.
A scientist from 2035 sits alongside Dr. Peters.
Offscreen, Dr. Peters travels to San Francisco, New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Kinshasa, Karachi, Bangkok, then Peking to spread his virus worldwide.

2035

Cole speaks with Jose in his cell.
Cole is assigned to volunteer duty above ground.
He is sent back to 1990.
After returning from 1990, Cole is then mistakenly dispatched to World War I.
When he returns, he has experienced the WWI scene, plus everything up to his disappearance after speaking with Jeffrey in 1996.
Cole is returned to 1996 to complete his mission but never comes back to 2035.

12 Monkeys' ending never reveals whether those in the future gathered the sufficient amount of intel required to develop a cure for Dr. Peters' virus. Such a revelation would lie in the movie's future beyond that of events shown in 2035. The future scientist taking her seat alongside Dr. Peters on the flight to San Francisco brings with it a hopeful implication of success, but this is never confirmed.

12 Monkeys' Time Travel Rules Explained

James Cole can't change the past, nor can any other 12 Monkeys character

Not all time travel movies abide by the same rules, and 12 Monkeys continues the trend of establishing specific laws regarding how events can unfold within the film's canon. Put simply, there is exactly one timeline in 12 Monkeys. Unlike other time travel stories, like the Back to the Future trilogy, alterations can't be made to time in 12 Monkeys. Things always happen how they happened, and that's that. This is proven by humanity's acknowledgment that trying to prevent the coming apocalypse would be fruitless, suggesting attempts have indeed already been made.

"I can't do anything about what you're going to do. I can't change anything. I won't stop you, I can't stop you. I just want the information." - Cole to Jeffrey in 1996.

12 Monkeys' time-travel logic means there is some hope after the movie is over, regardless of how unchanging the timeline might be. The fact that the past is fixed means the present and future must also be. It suggests a strong level of fate and predetermination. So, in theory, humanity has already either failed or succeeded in thwarting Dr. Peter's virus-based endgame. However, 12 Monkeys' implied lack of ability to travel to the future and check means those in 2035 will have to wait and see if their hard work pays off.