The Buttefly Effect
Cast
N/A
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #2
5/10. Ashton Kutcher is one of the most, if not the most,
overexposed "celebrity" now. Most people can't even name a movie he
was in. I'm not a big fan of That 70's Show, where he made his name
known, but after he made Dude, Where's My Car?, I don't think anyone
thought he could ever be a credible actor. And The Butterfly Effect
proves it. From a story that has been floating around Hollywood for
years (it took someone with the star power and epic acting skills of
Kutcher to get it greenlighted), The Butterfly Effect has a great
idea but is executed in such a mixed bag kind of way it's hard to
like it.
Evan (Kutcher) has gone through a troubled childhood (filled with
the stupidest kids you've even seen on film), and had experienced
numerous blackouts. He's better now, but finds a way to go back in
time to change the horrifying events of his past. What he doesn't
realize (until the end-most people would've caught on as soon as
possible) that everything he does affects his whole life ahead of
him. It seems to affect Kayleigh (Amy Smart) the most in each one,
where she goes from sorority girl to waitress to prostitute. The
like happens to everyone else Evan knows. But no matter how much he
screws it up, he keeps on truckin' so that his life is perfect.
This story is much like Donnie Darko (as it has been said multiple
times), but Darko knows where its going and has a purpose. In The
Butterfly Effect, it takes itself way too seriously. The first half
of the movie is basically Evan's past, where troubling events take
place. The second half is Evan going back to fix his mistakes. The
worst part is, Evan doesn't even think of helping others with these
powers of his. There's a scene in a movie theater (where they're
showing two New Line Cinema movies, obviously), and some people
unrelated to him get hurt. Why not go back and stop that? Also, when
Evan goes back to save a mother and daughter, he does it for
himself, not for the people that would be killed. And we're supposed
to feel along with this selfish character? In a movie as dark and
serious as this, it deals with silly topics, like time travel. Time
travel only works humorously (Back to the Future) or when explained
properly (Donnie Darko). Neither occur in The Butterfly Effect. I
had been told many times that to like this movie I couldn't take it
seriously. I tried not to, but the events that occur in the movie
(including child porn and animal abuse) are impossible to take
lightly. At least the movie deals with them in a serious matter.
The concept is a pretty cool concept, but once again, it's destroyed
by the actual dialogue written. It's all so basic and clich�d I
could basically guess what they were about to say next. Also, why
must they have begun with a scene of the climax? Movies always do
that, often for a purpose. There was no reason here. The whole movie
was uneven-half of the movie was basically revisited over and over
again in the second half, which unnecessarily spends much of its
time in a prison. On another note, I liked the way that everything
tied together (I'm not talking about the ending) and that the
unanswered questions from throughout the movie were eventually taken
into consideration, such as the purpose of Evan's blackouts. I
watched the director's cut, and the alternate ending seemed gutsy,
but I really liked it. I read about the other ending, and I prefer
this one.
This almost seemed like a typical teen movie (more so than it
already is) by the acting. Kutcher can't act worth beans, and Amy
Smart isn't exactly Katherine Hepburn either. The only two
remarkable people in the cast were Eric Stoltz (as the
aforementioned child pornographer) and Ethan Suplee (as Evan's Goth
roomate), who always put in great acting jobs. But this movie, which
is sure to wow the MTV generation, has a great idea at its
fingertips, but can't seem the right way to execute it.
Rated R for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug use.
Running time: ? minutes
Back Home