Search - BUTTERFLY EFFECT (BLU-RAY) on Blu-ray

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 9/19/2023...

One twisted movie!

Import Blu-Ray Limiting

SRFireside | Houston, TX United States | 02/13/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Butterfly Effect is a pretty cerebral science fiction movie that seems like it's pretending to be one of those trendy MTV-styled thrillers. On the surface you have Ashton Kutcher and other good looking kids going from scene to scene with cool music in the background and such... which is fine for bringing in that crowd. What I really liked about the movie were the questions that it was raising about Ashton's character and what he can do: if you can go back and change your past what implications would come of it? The Butterfly Effect pulls this off almost perfectly.



The movie spends a fair amount of time in the beginning establishing Evan's (Ashton) life as a youth and all of the serious problems he faced. This is some intense stuff. You really get pulled down in the mud in these scenes and get a good idea of how messed up Evan's life was and how much he had to overcome to get to Ashton's age. By then his need to change his past, along with his ability to, gets the movie started to the point. Is this beginning long and drawn out? Does it pull you too far from the direction the movie ultimately goes? No way. While it does go off on a tangent of sorts that's exactly what you need.



The rest of the film deals with his jumping back and forth to his past, trying to change it for the better, and having to deal with the results. This is the meat of the movie and this is where you see the complications between dealing with a traumatic past and how much worse it can be trying to fix it. Ashton didn't get a lot of praise for his performance in this movie, which is sad. Although his face is unforgettable from his past exploits he didn't come off as That 70's Show's Kelso or the host of MTV's Punk'd in any way. He really showed his acting chops in this movie.



The special effects on this movie played well with things like its time/space warping scenes. Cinematography is worth noting too. Different eras of Evan's life seem to be depicted with different lens filters and other camera tricks that give the scenes a very signature look. All in all a very solid production.



Now the theatrical release has an ending different from the director's original vision. If you ask me they made a good choice with the theatrical ending. It makes more sense and it fits better in the overall theme of the movie. The alternate ending goes way out there on left field, even with the director's cut filling in little scenes that are supposed give foreshadowing for that ending. It's just a lame ending in my opinion. There are lot of people who say they prefer the alternate ending and I can only think they do because it's such a radical departure from conventional endings.



Now this Blu-Ray release is actually an import and doesn't come with any special features and whatnot other than enhanced picture. As a matter of fact this release will only have the director's cut of the movie and the theatrical release is not there at all. That includes the director's "alternate ending". This sucks for people who want to compare between the theatrical and director's cut as they are pretty different on how they end (and believe me that makes all the difference).



The Butterfly Effect is a great movie, but this Blu-Ray release isn't. No extra features. No commentary. No both versions of the movie. It's better to wait for a better release or just get the Infinifilm edition DVD, which has both versions, deleted scenes, documentaries and more."