Nice premise, excellent ending? (No spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (24 January 2004)

So where should I being? With the ending of course!
I was halfway expecting them to take the "happy happy" ending or the "horrific and neverending" route that most of today's films try to take.
To put it mildly, I was pleasantly surprised when they chose an ending that was an excellent fit with the material, and quite powerful in and of itself.
A very good choice, defying today's morass of instant gratification and cynicism.
While the performances weren't QUITE spot-on (Kutcher's a bit shaky at points..though, if I was hopping paradoxes, I'd probably be a bit shaky myself), they're not awful.
A bit more definition probably could probably have been given to the circle of friends surrounding Kutcher and Smart, though I'm unsure if this would have lessened the impact of the somewhat drastic changes they go through.
The only flub in the movie was the prison sequence. Evan does something to "prove" his ability to another inmate. However, in all actuality, the inmate's perception would have modified WITH the change in history. So he wouldn't have been convinced of anything.
So one slight, but important ding on the plot. Nevertheless, still kinda a funny-scary moment with the manufacturing of that proof. And in a sci-fi/psych thriller like this, it's one of those "payoff" moments that makes people sit up in their seats.
All in all, I liked the film.
About the only thing I have to say "bad" about it is, I REALLY wouldn't take kids to see it. Some of the subject matter's just a bit too "adult" for them.