Cause and Effect: Punk That!

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2011)

No, I don't have much respect for the normally ineffective Ashton Kutcherbut wow. He was literally spot-on in The Butterfly Effect.
If you liked Frailty, Stir of Echoes, Se7en or Mr. Brooks, chances are, you'll like this (sorta) Time-Traveling tale of love lost, gained, destroyed, rebuilt and retribution.
I loved this movie. And it held one of the best secrets I've ever seen in a movie: an (Special Features) alternative ending that equally matches the theatrical finale. Both endings actually make perfect sense and are both a great conclusion/solution to the problem at hand. My recommendation is getting the DVD or Blu-Ray that contains both and watch both.
Aside from the climax, the movie itself was a fantastic and original take on the age-old Grays Sports Almanac (SEE: Back to the Future Part II) catch-22. It also seems like an elaborate set-up of what we know what's coming: a man traveling back/forth in time to "correct" problems to set the future right. (Also SEE: "Year of Hell," the best Star Trek: Voyager episode.)
It's not a "boring" and "long intro" after all. After multiple viewings, which you should, you'll pay closer attention to details to the younger kids as they grow and suffer until the story shifts to "the present" and Evan (Kutcher) attempts to wrong the gaps of his memory loss during traumatic times in his childhood.
Evan has had some bad experiences as a child, and lucky or not, he's blacked out for most of these. Fortunately, he had one doctor that encouraged him to write a very detailed journal. Evan uses these later in life to somehow magically transport him back into the kid he was during the life-altering bad times.
Unfortunately, as the movie's title indicates – for those who know the "legend" of the light-winged beast – every step he takes "back-in-time" causes further complications in the future.
That's a really basic summary of the plot hereand I'm glad to report that. There's so much more here. Deep performances, namely by both Amy Smart and Elden Henson – in multiple-yet-similar roles (SEE: Groundhog Day.) Great cinematography and complex storytelling round out the film.
I would highly recommend this feature. Though it's a bit on the long side, it's a real thinker, albeit a Hollywoodized film. And despite its dark subject, it's fun and really gets going about half-way through when our "hero" Evan realizes his power of time-manipulation.