Most Critics Just Don't GET Science Fiction Do They...

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 2011)

As a casual observer of US culture, I certainly was somewhat aware of "The Butterfly Effect" in 2004. I remember not having the time to see it or a dozen other pretty-good movies of that period, and putting it on the shelf in the back of my mind, to come around and get to later. And I of course absorbed the general critics' one-or-two line dismissals, which a sci fi fan like myself finds to be all too frequent in the reviewing of what we later find were very risky and rewarding films.
I just watched the movie today, and I SOOOOOOOOOOO regret not seeing it in the theater or in the year of its release. Far from being a confusing or uneven piece, this movie hits a home run in the fan's major area of concern: will the movie violate its supernatural premise, and fall apart in the middle? The answer was a resounding NO. Will the movie remain true to the scientific premise of its mechanisms and theories and build a great story on a foundation, and not build a bad foundation to support a tasty but illogical story? YES.
This is a film Ashton Kutcher and everyone else herein can and should be proud of, just as Jake Gyllenhaal and everyone involved can and should be proud of Donnie Darko, and for all the same reasons.
This is the trickiest kind of film to nail, and done right it can reach out to many beyond the genre fans who will seek, find and love it. This film is on par with the best out on this edge; Donnie Darko as mentioned, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Happy Accidents...
The nicest surprise for me, is that someone took the odd illogical time travel method of the goofy love story "Somewhere In Time," and employed it in a quantum-leap style sensibility that made for a brilliant and constantly interesting and engaging movie. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I might check out the directors cut, even the alternate endings, but I don't know how they can add anything to the amazing movie I just watched.