A wannabe Donnie Darko?

Rating: 7/10 (13 August 2004)

I watched this film on DVD a couple of weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised by both plot, special effects and theme as well as Ashton Kutcher's performance as Evan Treborn - who would have guessed he could actually act? I think the film might have been marketed wrong, because it appears to be much more of a scary movie in the trailers than it really is. It has got much more depth than I was brought to believe when watching those trailers, which may be why I was surprised in such a positive way. Had it been marketed as a 'deep' or 'thought provoking' film, I think it might have led me to expect more and thereby disappointed me.
The most striking thing about it was however the film's obvious resemblance to Richard Kelly's fascinating Donnie Darko (2001). First of all, there is the time-travel theme, which I think The Butterfly Effect juggled surprisingly well but not in as thought-provoking or entertaining a way as Donnie. Secondly, the graphic presentation of TBE is absurdly identical to that of DD. Try and compare the two film's black&blue, creepy-themed layouts. You'll find them almost identical. Coincidence? I don't know, but I know I thought "Wow, someone's been watching Donnie Darko!" when I first saw TBE.
Overall, I must say that much prefer DD's cast over TBE's, although Ashton delivers his first real performance as an actor, he just has not got the same inscrutable way about him than DD's main character Donnie (Gyllenhaal) has and that special feel, a sort of air of mystique that surrounds Donnie is only half-heartedly portrayed by Kutcher. It is as if he (and the entire film) cannot really decide whether to be dramatic, thrilling or provocative and the sci-fi/fantasy element becomes secondary. For example: those theories behind time-traveling in the film ... not so believable. They don't seem to have been thought through or given deeper consideration, resulting in the time-travel to be less believable and easier to brush aside. Donnie on the other hand, keeps you wondering for hours and is a great movie to watch with like-minded and discuss afterwards.
I rewarded The Butterfly Effect 7 points here on IMDb for its entertainment value and overall interesting plot, but no lingering effect.
I gave Donnie Darko a 9 for its excellent actors, composition and feel. The musical score is also a bonus, it's simply amazing. All in all I would suggest you go rent Donnie Darko instead of The Butterfly effect if you're in the mood for a mind-boggling and beautiful sci-fi flick.