A thriller, which at first seems well done, and original but then turns into pure garbage

Rating: 4/10 (24 January 2004)

I went to see the Butterfly Effect after my friend Jen went to see the movie. She said to me she did not know what to think about it yet she did not really like it. I started getting a bit leery about the film after her opinion of the film. Well what can I say, I am not a big fan of Ashton Kutcher but to me the Butterfly Effect from the trailer looked liked something so original and interesting that it really didn't matter that Ashton was in it or not. Well I read a lot of reviews for the film; most of them were not good at all. I also read an article on imdb.com that the film was screened at Sundance and the viewers hated the film. If that wasn't enough in the article it also stated that Ashton Kutcher himself was not going to promote the movie due to all the bad reviews. Boy when I read all the bad things about the film and I found out Jen wasn't crazy about the film neither well I had Butterflies in my stomach (Thank you ladies and gentlemen I will be here all week) when I decided to go see the Butterfly Effect this afternoon.
The film is basically about a kid named Evan (Ashton Kutcher) who has a messed up past and then finds a way to travel back to his harmful past to correct the horrible death of his girlfriend/childhood pal Kayleigh played by Amy Smart but here comes the twist, his plan does not always turn out the way he aspects it to. And he learns that whenever you change the past something else in the past has to be changed as well! Does this plot remind you of something? Ding Ding Ding Yes Scott do you know what it reminds you of? Yes its Back to the Future with a dark little twist.

At First, The Butterfly Effect comes off as an interesting film. I enjoyed the scenes within the first thirty minutes of the film which make the film seem very dark and unique as you start asking yourself the question what the hell is wrong with these kids? But after a few flashbacks and my pal Ashton Kutcher appears on the screen the movie goes downhill. A lot of flashbacks, incredibly bad acting, and unintentional funny movies follow
Well let's start this off by analyzing the acting. At first when all the characters are children the acting is decent. The kids who played Evan, Kayleigh, Lenny and Tom when they were younger did a good job. As for the films more known cast of Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart well there performances weren't good at all in fact they sucked!!!! I am going to start posing the question How does Ashton Kutcher still get work? Did anyone not see Dude Where's My Car, Down to You, Just Married, Or My Boss's Daughter? I guess not since he still is being offered roles. I mean his best performance was in Cheaper by The Dozen where he did nothing more than make fun of himself stating he isn't a good actor but his face gets him places. I could not agree with him more. As for Amy Smart, well I don't know, her whole role was so small but her on screen presence was so dull and badly acted.
The geniuses behind this movie where the same two guys who wrote Final Destination 2. Am I seeing a pattern here? A movie with a great trailer but turns out to be nothing more than a script with lousy dialog and unintentional funny moments. These guys ruined Final Destination! The first Final Destination was an original film with decent acting and suspense but the second one was a laugh out loud riot to everyone who watched the film. These two guys J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress both wrote a directed the Butterfly Effect. I have to actually say these guys were on to something when they first started the script but then after a while it seems as though they got lazy. It's sad that the movie turned out the way it did. I mean it has an interesting premise although not totally original but the premise could have been used to make a really good film. I mean with a better script, and actors it might have been one of the best films of the year. Well to give these guys some credit they did do a good job on directing. I loved the camera angles and movements. I also liked the flashback sequences they were cool and neatly shot. J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress you guys did a good job directing but what happened on the script after the first 30 minutes? Come On Guys you can do better!
Another thing I found hilarious about the film was that it had four producers and seven Executive producers. Why the hell did they need so many producers on one film? Does that tell anyone anything about the film?

Well what can I say I wanted to really like the film and when it started out I thought I was going to, but soon into the film did I start hating it and laughing out loud at some of the films unintentional funny scenes. The people responsible for advertising this film should be giving all the money this film makes because wow they did one hell of a good job marketing this turkey. Getting me to actually want to see an Ashton Kutcher movie that stars him, as the main character is such a challenge but boy did they accomplish it! I give this film a 4/10 only for the great camera work and for the first thirty minutes. If you want to watch this film, I advise you wait for it to hit VHS or DVD shelves in a few months.