Roller coaster of a film

Rating: 6/10 (4 June 2017)

The Butterfly Effect starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart is a twisted roller coaster of a movie. It is about Evan (Ashton Kutcher) and his ability to look at different entries in his childhood journals and go back in time to change something bad that happened in order to save someone in his life, it's almost always to save the love of his life Kayleigh (Amy Smart). The movie plays kind of like a dumbed down version of other smarter more sophisticated thrillers. I really do feel conflicted about the film. It has it's intriguing moments and it features good performances by the actors, especially Amy Smart. But on the other hand, there are times in the movie where you just roll your eyes because it's the usual teen/college aged crap you see in stereotypical youth targeted films. The college/sorority section of the film was the main part of the movie where I felt that way, the way the characters acted was dumb and almost laughable, and it was hard to buy, but then in other sections the material was solid and I bought the whole thing. That's why this film as a whole is a mixed bag, there's some pretty good things in it, but it never really reaches greatness, and it doesn't rise above character stereotypes that dumb down the movie. Another good thing I liked was how it ended, it was kind of touching and different. Overall I'd say a 6/10 is the fairest and most accurate rating for The Butterfly Effect.