Our Movie Reviews Butterfly Effect, The
Release Year: 2004
Average Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Last Reviewed On: August 1, 2004 (by Scott)
(DVD version)


Scott's Review:
2 out of 5 stars on August 1, 2004

Okay, first off let me warn you that, thanks to Netflix, I watched the director's cut instead of the theatrical release, and I'm going to mention the ending, though I won't spoil it.

That aside, this is a pretty good thinker. Our protagonist has frequent blackouts, and apparently like his father and grandfather, finds out that he can actually relive his blackouts to control the course of past events. It takes what would have been a great Twilight Zone episode premise and turns it into feature length movie. Unfortunately for us movie watchers, about all it does to achieve this feat, it repeats the premise over, and over, and over, and over, and adds a ton of profanity. It's a good enough script, but about the fourth time I was watching nearly the same things happen all over again, it was getting pretty boring.

Having said that, I did watch the director's cut originally. While I won't spoil the ending, let me just say that the director had envisioned on of the most messed up endings to a movie I've seen in a long time. The ending that was originally stuck on this movie actually felt like an ending, the director apparently wanted me to feel like I've wasted two hours of my life.

So, a good movie, but after you get the gimmick of the movie, feel free to stop watching, there's nothing more to see.


-- Scott and Michelle