Dark saga of realistic superhero

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2008)

The Butterfly Effect centers around the use of time travel to undo the ravages of a truly disastrous childhood. The protagonist suffers one of the worst childhoods known to film, the child of a mentally ill father, the victim of neighborly pedophile and an utterly vicious playmate. When he realizes that his cowardice and passivity in the face of evil has resulted in the death of one of his friends and the mental illness of another, he uses his inexplicable powers of time travel in a desperate effort to make it all right. In doing so he establishes himself as a realistic Harry Potter, a genuine if tragically flawed wizard in an epic battle against the overwhelming forces of evil that lurk in contemporary America. And yes, evil is not pretty, as many commenting upon this film have noticed. Let me end with the advice to anyone who didn't like the film to see the director's cut on DVD. It is even, amazingly enough, darker than the theatrical release, which was dark enough. Yet in its truly dark ending it is most true to the artistic vision of the film, and shows us the real nature of heroism.