Janet Maslin of the New York Times called Twelve Monkeys"fierce
and disturbing" and remarked on Pitt's"startlingly frenzied performance", concluding that he"electrifies Jeffrey with a weird magnetism that becomes important later in the film.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times was very positive towards the film upon
its release, stating"Terry Gilliam's Brazil, a jaunty, wittily observed vision of an extremely bleak future, is a superb example of the power of comedy to underscore serious ideas, even solemn ones.