Review of The Butterfly Effect (2004) by Thomas M — 26 Aug 2012

This movie takes over half of the movie to set up before the main plot device kicks in. I tend to like this sort of a build up but it the movie a little unbalanced. The character and his concerning blackouts are fairly dramatic, and the overall tone of the movie surprisingly heavy.

I liked how it is darkly ironic and makes you realize the weight of even small decisions and events in the overall outcome of your life. The story is insightful and reminds us that no one has a perfect life; there will always be tragedies, trials and imperfections.

Ashton Kutcher does an adequate job but comedy is a genre he much better suited for. He does not sink the ship but there could have been better choices for the lead role. The kids in the movie do a better job and carry the load of most of the hard hitting scenes.

I feel like more could have been done with the last part of them movie, many of the alternate realities are too extreme and none of them are crafted as well as they could be. The big concept was strong but the plot was just a little heavy handed and clumsy.

It is a shame I felt like this average movie could have been more.