Black Butterfly

Black Butterfly is a mystery/thriller. You feel that there are going to be twists so you try to figure out what the outcome will be. For once I had it right even though it wasn't necessarily obvious. My wife didn't see it coming. The story is far from perfect but it still remains a good movie to watch. The main characters are played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Antonio Banderas and they did a good job. Their complicity is what the movie makes it interesting to follow. And even if there were a couple faults in the story, not very big ones, Black Butterfly is a good movie for people who like this genre. It could have been better but than again I saw so much bad movies lately that I'm not going to be fussy about this one. Nicely shot, with good actors, and with an okay story with the necessary twists for a movie in this genre.

This the remake of the French movie "Papillon Noir" directed by Christian Faure at 2008. The story is nearly the same except, an additional scene just at the end, which is a disappointment because it make the film much more simple. I recommend the original French one, especially if you are familiar with the language.

A remake of a foreign thriller, this version is worth your while if you've read the synopsis and the story sounds appealing.

The direction is crisp. Editing and cinematography are generally excellent. The story and script are tight and twisty. The casting is excellent -- Antonio Banderas was cast instead of Nicholas Cage and we can all be thankful for that. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Piper Perabo do a great job as well, as do the supporting players.

Sadly, the sound mix is one of the worst I've ever heard, due to the poorly mixed dialog tracks and one song that is cranked too loud (and not a great song at that). The dialog volume veers wildly all throughout the movie, from barely audible mumbling to deafening shouts. I had to watch this with my controller in hand to be ready to drop or raise the volume significantly at every radical shift.

The fact that two production sound mixers are credited might point to the problem (i.e. -- the first one might have been replaced for being incompetent), but there's no excuse for not fixing it in post so the ultimate blame belongs to the post supervisor and the dozen or so producers listed in the credits who should have insisted on and sprung for a better mix. Yes, post sound is an expensive item but it's also a critical feature.

Ironically, the sound efx are top notch. It might be a small triumph, but the gun shots are the most realistic shots I've ever heard in a movie.

If you like tense commercial thrillers, check it out. Just keep the volume control handy, particularly if your neighbors are sensitive to noise.

This is one of those twist movies that feels forced even throughout the first viewing and I expect that a second would make it feel all the more so. The twist itself is plausible and satisfying but the house of cards required to build up to it ... is kind of a monstrosity. Still, I'd say worth seeing at least once. You've definitely seen worse.

I really enjoyed Black Butterfly, it was one of those movies that you kind of knew what was happening next, and then things turned out very differently. The 2 main characters were very well acted. I know a negative reviewer was saying alcoholics don't swig out of bottles, well as an alcoholic, I can tell you that was true to life, as was the early morning drinking, and blanking out and waking up in bed. The movie had a great location a secluded ranch style house and the tension was palpable almost from the start. I promise you, the ending was amazing and totally unexpected and a pleasant surprise. Overall a low budget movie which I enjoyed far more than Star Trek Beyond which cost $180 million dollars and which I refused to watch to the end. I am quite critical with movies, read my other reviews. This film is definitely worth viewing with pleasure and interest.