ALL SCI-FI

[The Spike]

You can't change who people are without destroying who they were.

The Butterfly Effect - Directors Cut

The Butterfly Effect is directed by Eric Bress and Bress co-writes the screenplay with J. Mackye Gruber. It stars Ashton Kutcher, Melora Walters, Amy Smart, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott, Eric Stoltz and Ethan Suplee. Music is by Michael Suby and cinematography by Matthew F. Leonetti.

The title refers to the butterfly effect, the chaos theory of a popular hypothetical situation that illustrates how small initial differences may lead to large unforeseen consequences over time. The plot pitches Kutcher as Evan Treborn who suffers blackouts during critical moments in his life. When older he finds that through reading the journals he has written since a child, that he can go back in time to the significant events and change what happens. Unfortunately each time he does it comes at a great cost...

It was mercilessly kicked by the pro critics upon release, not helped by coming at a time when Kucher was something of a kicking post to critics. To compound the misery for the makers, they released a theatrical cut that featured a quite appalling ending. In spite of these travails at the time of release, the pic made a pot load of cash at the box office. Once the Directors Cut surfaced, with a key scene added to cement the different - quality - ending, time has seen the stock of the pic rise considerably. So much so that it currently sits at a 7.6 rating on IMDb and a 75% rating on TMDB, while there are some critics who have come out and admitted they were too quick to judge the first release back in 2004.

What we have is a time traveling corkscrew narrative that is immensely sombre in telling how ones actions can have far-reaching consequences. It's a compelling and often thrilling picture, one that can spark hearty debate about the thematic at work - notably we the audience being forced to contemplate our own actions in life. The pic demands the utmost attention, switching off for a few minutes is a definite no no. Some scenes linger long in the memory as we trawl through the evil that kids and men do, right up to the unforgettable finale.

There's plot and logic holes that are small irritants, and even though this definitely could have been better cast with more senior actors, none of the youthful cast members hurt the picture. It packs a punch, that is on proviso you only see the directors cut. 7.5/10
_________________
The quality of mercy is not strnen.

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

I own the director's cut, and I have great respect for the movie's challenging concept, well told in this unique film.

I haven't watch it in years, but thanks to your review I'll put it on my coffee table and let it sit until it gets a little dusty, then I'll finally realize I might as well watch the movie . . . and dust off the box.

That's how a procrastinator motivates himself.

___________ The Butterfly Effect (2004) Trailer


__________
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

Okay, I just watched both endings of the this movie, and neither of them were the way I remembered!

So, in what movie do we see the egg in the mother's womb divide backwards until it vanished and cause the man to never be born? I was certain that Evan traveled back and caused himself not to be born, thus preventing all the problems.

I was absolutely positive it was the director's cut of this film!
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

There is a cartoon with a couple in bed. A man appears in the bedroom saying that he is their future son. He says, "About to have sex, are we?" The couple just stare at him and he slowly fades out of existence.

David.

[The Spike]

[Bud Brewster]

__________________________________________________

Damn, I was sure that's what happened, and yet I missed it somehow. I'll have to look at the ending again just confirm my suspicion that I'm having blackouts . . . just like the guy in the movie.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)