The Butterfly Effect

Quite a disappointment. I expected something interesting, like Donnie Darko, but alas. The Butterfly Effect is a viewer-friendly film aimed at an undemanding younger audience, the games with time are only for effect and without any depth. It is watchable, but it doesn’t have a chance to win my heart. (09/24/2008)

During the first act the chills made a car track out of my back, about halfway through I had no idea were it was going and the unexpected shifts in the plot kept me on my toes, and by the end I was one more satisfied viewer. A dense atmosphere, excellent direction and an interesting story make The Butterfly Effect a movie that won't let you catch your breath. Then even the logical holes in the script and the fact that the theme of temporal paradoxes is not revelatory (and has been handled better in many other movies) can be forgiven. This film has a lot of appeal. And, by the way, Amy Smart is gorgeous. (01/22/2005)

This film’s numerous visual tricks, incredibly high-octane plot and mysterious atmosphere, supported by a beautifully mysterious and emotional soundtrack, will captivate you and give you a powerful and moving experience. But if you use your head more actively, you will repeatedly get tripped up. Some of the twists are solely for effect and diminish the sense of what happened before (why didn’t he return more times to that one moment and shape the circumstances so that everything would be perfect?!). Actually, the whole film is a less sophisticated version of Twelve Monkeys, but revolving not around the end of the world, but around love. (11/05/2004)

The psycho beginning aside, this is a nice and sensual film. However, I was quite confused in the first few minutes and had absolutely no idea who was getting the beating. Then it got clearer and I couldn't stop staring. Ashton Kutcher played like we haven't seen him before and Amy Smart was a great partner for him. I experienced that killing feeling of helplessness with them to the maximum. And it scares me just to think that someone would sacrifice themselves for me like that without me ever knowing about it. I even shed a tear at the end. Nice, 4 stars. (02/07/2012)

The idea that we could travel back in time and change the past as we see fit is so appealing that even I sometimes get swept away by a film that tells this story. Here, however, the frequent illogicality of the plot spoiled the overall impression. Even Ashton Kutcher couldn’t save it. He is nice to look at, but unfortunately, that's about it. (65%) (11/21/2021)