The Butterfly Effect

[Muad'Dib]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I saw this movie a few days ago, and was surprised at how good it was. I didn't expect, after seeing previews and so on, that the plot line would be what it is. The whole concept is rather creative, and the acting was pretty dang good.

Anybody else seen this one? I think there was a thread on it a while back, but I didn't see it. The thread I mean.

The ending wasn't my favorite, but was really good.[/COLOR]

[James]

[color=#707875]The actual concept is really old; there have been a million movies that do the whole "you can't mess with time" thing.

But having said that, my opinion on this movie is mixed.

The performances were all fine and stuff. And the story was just fine.

But somehow, I came out of the movies thinking "Did I really enjoy this movie?"

I say that because frankly, I felt quite emotionally drained at the end. [spoiler]No matter what the main character does, he ends up in a bad situation for the most part.[/spoiler]

Sure, that's kinda the point -- don't mess with time, you can't change the past, and so on.

But still...some aspects of the movie were quite brutal and shocking, at least in terms of what they implied. I think that the acting supported this though; the performances were fairly appropriate.

Aston Kutcher (I am probably misspelling his name) was surprisingly good in my view. I've only ever seen him act like a doofus/idiot/funny guy. Seeing him do something serious was pretty refreshing. I think he has potential, in terms of being a pretty serious actor in the future, if that's what he'd like to do.

So yeah, it was a while since I've seen it now...and I'd have to see it again to really get that fresh effect from it.

In general though, I don't think it was necessarily a [i]bad [/i]movie. It made me [i]feel [/i]bad in some respects.

It's like Silent Hill or something -- beautifully crafted game, but it's so scary and traumatic that you wonder if it's really "entertainment" or punishment. ~_^[/color]

[InuyashaLvr]

I saw it a couple of weeks ago at a friends house. I actually thought it would be pretty boring, but I was amazed!

The ending is kind of screwy, but it's very strange and keeps pulling you in to it! So awesome! The thing I really don't get is his dad... Both times he went back to see it and everything, he tried to kill him and thenw as killed...That's the only thing that got me...

Otherwise great movie, and if you haven't seen it I totally advice it!

O.k...yeah..I'm done! :D

[Shinken]

A few days ago I rented this film, and I must say that I enjoyed it- to a degree. The film, while interesting, was a bit... drawn out, in my opinion. Ashton Kutcher did well in such a serious role, much better than I thought he would. However, I was still somewhat dissatisfied with his performance, mainly on the basis that I couldn't stop telling myself "Yes, Ashton Kutcher [i]is[/i] being serious". The plot was great, but like I said, a bit drawn out. As for the ending, it was okay. It also brought up an interesting (albeit somewhat self-defeating) question: If the main character does what he does to himself at the end, how would he manage to go into the past to do so in the first place? *scratches head* Oh well.

Here's a tidbit of hilarity involved with this film: As the credits rolled across the screen, my grandmother proclaimed the following. [i]"I'm surprised that Christ didn't strike us down for watching this movie."[/i] And she [i]wasn't[/i] referring to any faults she may have found with the movie's cast or their abilities.

[miss_adriana]

when i first went to see the butterfly effect i didnt want to, but it was sooo good. after we saw it we even snucked in to the other showing and saw it again lol. it is really interesting to see all the things that could have happened. and its really well cast and my sister and friend were like in love with the charatcters when they were thirteen.lol. the movie is so good we were like obsessed with it for like 2 weeks, like that.

[James]

[quote name='Shinken'] If the main character does what he does to himself at the end, how would he manage to go into the past to do so in the first place? [/quote]
[color=#707875][spoiler]Because The Butterfly Effect essentially deals with "multiple dimensions", or "multiple universes". So rather than time being on one linear path, there are mutiple strands of time.

The idea is a pretty common one, as I've mentioned earlier. Each time the main character does something, it basically creates a new strand of time -- a "what if" scenario.

If you remember that episode of The Simpsons, where Homer keeps going back in time with the toaster and doing different things, with different results occurring in the "present"...that's kind of what The Butterfly Effect is doing. So he keeps going back to those same situations and doing things differently, which significantly effects the couse of his life in the future. It's just like mutiple "what if" scenarios.[/color][/spoiler]

[Semjaza]

I've only seen the Director's Cut of this film, which is only on the DVD. I've read the original ending, however, and I have to say that this new one is far better. If you've not seen both versions, rent the DVD and check it out.

Overall good movie, but there's a MASSIVE amount of plot holes, like in any time traveling movie.

[Falkon]

yes it was pretty good.. i enjoyed, it, and its the best movie i ahve seen since fahrenheit 9/11. great plot and makes ya think ^_^

[Syk3]

My friend and I were bored last night, so we went up to BlockBuster and rented this movie and Secret Window, both of which I've wanted to see for a long time but never got the chance. We watched The Butterfly Effect first, and I'm hoping to see Secret Window tonight before we have to turn it back in tommorrow. An interesting thing to note, though, is that I'm only 16 and they never asked for ID on an R-rated movie, lol (probably because of that beard that I haven't been shaving <_<).

The Butterfly Effect was as much as I was hoping for and more. Kutcher's performance was great under a serious role, and I enjoyed the plot a lot. [spoiler]It does kind of suck that despite any changes Evan makes in the past, he gets screwed, but with the direction that this film was taking, an everyone-ends-up-happy conclusion just wouldn't have fit.[/spoiler] While there have been a lot of films dealing with time messing, I think that this one stands out as being extremely pessimistic and violent. Not that those things automatically make a good movie, but it gives it some.. originality, in a way. I love the way they carry it out, too.

One thing I don't get, though. [spoiler]When Evan had the blackouts when he was a kid, sometimes he would end up like when he went back in time (such as holding the knife in the doorway, and meeting his dad), and sometimes he wouldn't (such as in his friend's dad's basement, and when they burned the dog). Was it just a coincidence, or as Semjaza puts, plot holes? O_o[/spoiler]
[quote name='Semjaza Azazel']I've only seen the Director's Cut of this film, which is only on the DVD. I've read the original ending, however, and I have to say that this new one is far better. If you've not seen both versions, rent the DVD and check it out.[/quote]Wait, wait, wait. They put a different ending in the Director's Cut? That's the only one that I've seen as well, so I'll have to check the original ending later. What other differences are in the Director's Cut?

EDIT: I just saw the Theatrical edition, and from what I can see, [spoiler]they had a different ending and took out the parts leading up to that outcome (like the scene with the fortune teller), and they didn't show the implied beginning of the prison rape scene. As for the ending in the theatrical, where Evan gets Kayleigh to hate him, I definitely liked the Director's Cut ending better, where he went back in his mom's stomach and strangled himself.[/spoiler]

[50 cent]

[COLOR=Blue][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][B][I]Well to be honest I just saw this movie last week and I enjoyed it all except the ending. I know the plot is a common one, don't mess with time let it stay the way it is sort of thing, but they kinda twisted the way they presented it. I mean yes he did end up in worse situations, but the second one is the best one, I mean he didn't have to fight back. Well the end yes he thought that was the best one but he could've talked to her at least when he saw her and it would've all been okay.

Well this is my opinion if you disagree be my guest to post.[/I][/B][/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]