An interesting look at what could have been...

Rating: 9/10 (20 August 2004)

After seeing both the theatrical version and director's cut of The Butterfly Effect I highly recommend both. Both versions present the question 'What would it have been like if...?' Although I feel that the theatrical version is somewhat more watered-down, which was most likely to leave the audience feeling good at the end of the film, it is still worth watching.
The drama and action of the film revolves around Evan during his college years. As a young child he suffered from a rare medical condition which left him prone to blackouts during periods of high anxiety. When he is older he learns that he has the ability to travel back in time to the points at which he blacked out as a child. The film then presents several alternate realities based on changing one of the events of his childhood.
Aptly named The Butterfly Effect after the Chaos Theory, the outcomes of Evan altering the past are often chaotic and/or morbidly depressing. The purpose of the film being to demonstrate how changing one event in a person's life could have a significant effect on that person's future, it does exactly what it sets out to do.
If you have the opportunity to view the director's cut version of the film, it offers several deleted/altered scenes and a completely different ending. In my opinion the establishment of the plot, the message of the film and the overall outcome are much more pronounced in the director's cut version. It also adds to the drama of the film greatly.
If you are a fan of movies like 12 Monkeys, which also in my opinion is one of the best movies dealing with the concepts of time travel and the effects of specific events on a person's life, then you should enjoy this movie. Ashton Kutcher does an outstanding job and is supported well by Amy Smart and Melora Walters. Overall I give the theatrical version a 7/10 and the Director's Cut version a 9/10.