Time travel for the masses

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2011)

Time travel movies are notoriously difficult to get right, and they tend to work best when the time travel elements are kept simple (think of movies like THE TERMINATOR and TIMECOP, in which the sci-fi stuff is just an excuse to get to the action). THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT jumps right into the deep end by tackling the subject matter head on, and it turns out to make a surprisingly successful job of it.
The story is uncomplicated, presenting events in a chronological order that keeps the viewer's attention. With films like this, there are invariably going to be a ton of plot holes if you think too much about it, but that's part of the charm. The plot features a guy who can travel back in time to various times of his life, and the ensuing chaos that arises when he tries to change things. Yep, it's all about that old standby, you can't change the past, although the protagonist in this film has a damn good try.
Ashton Kutcher is slightly bland in the leading role, but in all fairness he does possess a kind of likability that makes it easy to watch him on screen, so I won't be too critical. In truth, he raises his game in comparison to some of the other non-starters appearing here (Amy Smart for one). The best actor of 'em all is Logan Lerman, who plays the 7-year-old version of Kutcher's character, and it's easy to see why Lerman's gone on to appear in plenty of other stuff since.
In the end, it's not a film that's going to blow you away or change the world, but it does make you sit back and think. I value originality a lot these days – especially from Hollywood – and it's just nice to see something a bit different for once even if there are missteps along the way (the bit where it veers wildly into comedy, for example). What is unsurprising is that two straight-to-video sequels followed, which goes to show that Hollywood greed is alive and well.