It's certainly worth a watch

Rating: 6/10 (19 November 2005)

It's interesting to note that there are so many different views towards this film. Some found it really good while others find it sucked. Just giving my 2cents worth of comments, if it matters to anyone.
I think The Butterfly Effect runs more on the thread of "what ifs" which is the basis of most Hollywood scripts than it being a horror flick. However, this movie moved out of the norms by presenting so many other alternatives within the storyline.
This concept is really not new. Considering films like Run Lola Run & Sliding Doors that deal with the same issue.
But it's refreshing to see how childhood events can really affect a person's life. And i dun think the writers exaggerate because it happens to many people around us. Our past and upbringing plays a big role in shaping how we will be like when we grow up, like it or not.
With regards to the editing,I was pretty bored during the first half hour of the film. I thought it was moving a little slow and almost wanted to press the forward button.
But as i continued watching, i got drawn into the character & psychic of Evan. I felt for the character cos he feels he's responsible for the "bad stuff" that happened to others' lives. It shows the love he has for his friends & people around him that in the end, the solution is to not have his life started(DVD version). In that way, his friends & family will never have to go thru all the pain they were going thru.
It's a little mystical & fairy-tale like kind of ending (be it the directors' cut or theatrical cut). Like what many people say, it's not like if you were not born or went back to change the past, all these mishaps will not happen in their lives. But it's just a film after all.
I think in comparison to many other crappy Hollywood movies that have been made, The Butterfly Effect certainly scores much more. It's not excellent but certainly worth a watch.