The Butterfly Effect (Infinifilm Edition)
August 2004 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

The premise of this movie is relatively cool. Evan Treborn, a young college student trying to get over traumatic childhood events, can read his journal entries involving those happenings and be transported back in time to their original date. Once there, he tries to correct certain actions to achieve a different outcome. Back in the present, he always finds that his meddling has changed things, but never for the better.

The film’s script is inspired by the chaos theory of existence, in which one simple action can have a domino effect on every action that comes after it. The movie’s title informs us that a butterfly flapping its wings in Asia could result in a hurricane in another part of the world.

We have certainly had many time-travel stories that discuss how changing the past will affect the future. The nutty thing about The Butterfly Effect is that the lives of the main characters do change, often dramatically, but nothing else in the world seems to follow suit. The scriptwriter-directors of this movie ask us to believe that these folks live in such a closed loop that the rest of humanity is totally unaffected by them. So much for the butterfly and the storm.

I could point out even more holes in the story, but that would be cruel. Most scripts for movies of this sort ask you to suspend disbelief. This one starts in a smashing manner, with lots of shocks and jolts and ear-numbing sound that demand complete audience attention. The first two or three time jumps are fascinating, but at midpoint the movie starts to slide downhill into a sameness that makes you realize it is longer than 90 minutes. I knew I was being manipulated and it became boring.

The DVD includes both theatrical and director cuts of the movie. The main difference is that the director’s version has a longer ending, plus an earlier scene to set it up. This is one time I think the theatrical version is better. It at least ends decisively. The director’s cut merely takes its time to limp to a close. The picture and sound on both are excellent, bordering on definitive. The video image, well defined in outdoor shots, is a little murky in dark scenes. The sound might annihilate flimsy subwoofers, yet remains clean and clear for dialogue and music.

This is one of New Line’s Infinifilm editions, which means that when you select that option, subtitle links appear at the bottom of the screen as the movie is playing. Click on one and the movie is interrupted for an interview or some documentary footage. At the end of this, the movie starts again right where it left off. I find it irritating. I would much rather have this material in documentary form outside the movie. In fact, for this release, almost all the Infinifilm interruptions are just snippets from the larger documentaries. There is an interesting subtitle trivia feature one can turn on, like the ones Paramount uses for its deluxe Star Trek movies, but to use this feature you also have to turn on Infinifilm!

The disc contains a DVD-ROM feature that is virtually unique to New Line and is as cool as can be. Put the disc in a computer and load the necessary player, and you can see the script and movie at the same time, allowing you to compare what is on paper with the actual cinematic outcome. As stimulating as this is, The Butterfly Effect is still best as a rental movie. It has its positive moments but, uh, well, it has its negative moments, too.

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