A Sub Par Excellent Film

Rating: Null/10 (31 January 2004)

(spoilers)
The Butterfly Effect doesn't have great writing or great acting. The
plot is confusing and actually gets so in-depth you forget what
actually happened in the first place. But an important thing in this
film is the raw emotion, the terrifying effects that are caused by the
smallest action and the different outcomes that can happen. The raw emotion and the different outcomes are what save the
movie from being a mess. Ashton Kutcher is good, not great, and with some more experience
outside Sitcom World he could perhaps achieve that greatness.
Even though she appears as the same character in about six
different universes, Amy Smart is defenitely not given enough
screen time and she is not the actress I would have envisioned for
the part (we see the child version of her character in the first
scenes). Evan's mother, is underused here. Her jaded, though
optimistic and determined character never changes, only the
experiences. The plot is so twisting and has so many different twists that the
audience forgets the original reason in the first place. The movie
fails to put emphasis on the most important scene, the scene
where Kayleigh the Waitress and Evan part in the night, so halfway
through the movie you forget why you're watching, plot-wise.
Well, except for the raw, terrifying emotional depth. I give it 6/10.