I am finally able to write this review.

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2006)

On December 10th (a day before I am writing this review) I had to watch this movie for the second time- just to make sure that it was still the best movie that I have seen all year.
It is.
By watching this the second time, it simply drove in the fact that this movie was as ingeniously put together as I originally thought.
Please, if you have never watched the film, do not be put off by its peculiar, seemingly mediocre beginning. I almost was, and I nearly missed a masterpiece.
I was expecting- as many of you reading this probably are, or were- something totally and utterly different. The trailers gave the impression that this would be yet another thoughtless slasher horror flick. Ashton Kutcher's presence in the movie did not help. I had never previously watched any of his movies, and you would hope that "Dude, Where's my Car?" was at least as good as "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", but I have my doubts.
In this, however, Ashton Kutcher displayed for us his ability to both act in a serious role, and act in a serious role with excellence.
More importantly, this was not at all the bloody teen horror film that I expected, but an intricately sewn together thriller that was based (although loosely) on the theory after which it was named- The Butterfly Effect. This theory states that small events can have catastrophic effects- such as the flapping wings of a butterfly acting as the prerequisite to a hurricane.
Of course, you probably know the synopsis. After losing the woman that he loves, a man learns how to go back in time (no, I will not tell you how) and attempts to change the past, but each time he tries to change it, he ends up changing too much.
Apart from being deliciously entertaining, The Butterfly Effect helped to drive in something that I had always known, but never wanted to believe. As cheesy as it may sound, The Butterfly Effect has made me realize how important it is to be grateful for life exactly as it is. I will quote from the movie, "There is no perfect. You can't change what people are without changing what they were." And, "You can't play God." This movie does not fit into just one genre. It is a science fiction, a fantasy film, a romance, and a drama, all rolled into one. Some may think this makes it disjointed, but I believe that it gives the film a depth that so many others lack. At times it made me laugh, other times it made me cover my face with horror, but for the most part it always had me at the edge of my seat.
I also cried when it ended- which despite me being a sappy female happens very seldomly with movies. Yes, it was just that moving.
Of course, I have my own opinions about what Evan should have done (the part of me that was in support of him changing things at all) but I will leave them to myself. What he should have done is not as important as what he does do. As a popular band once said, it is about the journey, not the end or the start.
Now, if you do not get the movie the first time, try watching it a second time. Doing that helped me, too, even though I got most of it on the first try, and it has helped other viewers as well.
Lastly, I must address the way this film is constantly compared to Donnie Darko and Memento- both of which I have seen before. The Butterfly Effect is not nearly as confusing as either of those, and the plot is radically different. Memento is played backwards for one, and Donnie Darko is sometimes more allegorical than it is literal and much darker a film than either one. They have almost nothing to do with each other in my opinion, apart from the fact that I liked all three, and that they do not follow the chronological patterns of your average movie.
There ends the similarity.
Oh, and by the way? The movie really is very violent, and its R rating quite deserved. The violence, however, is not the focus of the film, so please do not allow this to deter you from watching the movie.