This movie talked to me, and I know it talks to a lot of people, specially young people. This movie had such an impact on me it impressed me and I still think about it and how it made me feel. I want to watch it constantly but I refrain myself so that every time I do watch it it remains a memorable experience.

It's not a freaking sci-fi movie, nerds.

Donnie Darko is one of my favorite movies of all time, a movie with an interesting story that left me chewing on it for weeks afterwards (and raiding Donnie Darko websites, and chatrooms, the DVD extras, etc.) to figure out its meaning. I still think it is a brilliant movie, and some additions are welcome. For example, for the uninitiated, the "philosophy of time travel" pages are helpful in understanding the plot. However, some of the "additions" didn't serve the movie, or even feel appropriate. For example, whenever Donnie has an "episode," they now show an eyeball (which is fine), but also some computer code??? Firstly, a computer doesn't have anything to do with what is happening in the movie, but if you want to be literal, there weren't even any computers in mass usage in the 80s! Also, towards the end of the movie, a new grid "effect" obscures an important part of the movie. Of course, the director could have decided that the original way this scene was presented gave a different meaning to what he intended and he now intends to obscure THAT. I don't know. Regardless, i still urge everyone to see this movie if you want something for your brain to wrap around, instead of the usual fluff.… Expand

The Graduate for the 9/11 generation. You will appreciate it more after your second viewing.

Perspective altering. An instant classic. Richard Kelly is setting a new standard in filmmaking that most modern filmmakers won't be able to compete with. See this movie becuase of the actors, the acting, the plot, the screenplay, the music, the content... Just see this movie!

Fantastic film. One of the most original, best new films in years.

Perfect 10, this film cannot be faulted. The pressure is on Richard Kelly to reproduce the genius thats so evident in Donnie Darko, maybe that's why he hasn't released anything since.

liked it alot both its inner perspective and outer spective views on reality and life, also the wake up part clearly was reference to the kundalini awakening, donnie suffers trauma then his kundalini wakes up, he also predicts his own death as a result of this sudden out pour of energy within the body.

Unparalled in every dimension. What Donnie Darko, both the original and the director's cut, has done that has served to make it such a cult phenomenon, is give the viewer a completely different world to live and think in. A world that's so wonderfully sculpted and detailed that one can reason and debate within the confines of a completely different world, with entirely new and different 'laws' and physics, and do so confidently because it is so complete and fleshed out it might have been real. It offers you the chance to be the expert in something else, and somewhere else to inhabit in your mind for however long you choose. I think it's this same element that helped with the success of Harry Potter and Friends- taking escapism a level further, and putting you almost literally into another dimension. It's not an easy movie to watch- repeat viewings are almost always called for, if not desired, and serve to make this more than just a story being told. What the director's cut offers, is a new perspective on certain elements of the story- pretty much giving you more insight into the director's own interpretation of it. Here technology plays a much more vital part, and in the commentary he reveals that there might be someone in the future who is manipulating the events, the tangent universe and even the secondary characters to help Donnie reach the conclusion needed for the world to continue. Granted, even the extra footage doesn't make this explicitly clear, but I think the commentary is actually more useful than just the additional footage on this one.… Expand

The good parts of this film are (highly) derivative, while the "original" parts fall flat. There are a few funny lines, and many tiresome scenes. It feels like the writer/director realized he was working on a "Heathers" redux, and added the whole time travel theme to make it "original." Whether that theme makes sense hardly matters--its a crushing, self-indulgent bore.

Any film that demands multiple viewings (not just to get at the nooks and crannies of the plot, but also to fully realize its emotional depth) gets a 10 in my book. Initially frightening and disorienting, upon subsequent viewings, Donnie Darko hits a surprising emotional pitch. Watch the director's cut first, and then I suggest taking in the original theatrical version for its tightness and pacing.… Expand

A truly amazing movie, a modern day version of The Last Temptation of Christ, which coincidental the movie references itself. What baffles me though is how the director's cut, honestly the inferior version in my opinion, is rated so much higher on this site. The director's cut goes as far flat out telling "this is EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING" without letting the viewer make sense of it all, which is part of the appeal.… Expand

A modern classic by a true auteur. And to think Jake had previously made MTV fodder like Bubble Boy!

The best comic-book movie I have ever seen.

The greatest movie of all!!

By far, this is the best movie I've seen Jake Gyllenhaal in. The acting was especially well done, a great sci-fi flick. This was a comic book?!

Excellent!

One of the best movies i've ever seen, it actually makes you think.

One of few movies that the critics like that is actually great. A must see.

If you people consider this a "good science fiction movie" then you clearly have never been exposed to good SF before, this movie is crap, I cannot even recommend it for its camp value it is so bad. This is merely the attempt of Richard Kelly to seem profound when he is merely ridiculous and tedious. Please people, go read some good SF like the work of Philip K. Dick or see a good SF movie like Tarkovsky's 1972 film "Solaris" or Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."… Expand

The good parts of this movie, black comedy about suburbia, remind me a LOT of Heathers. The "original" parts of the movie, based on some idea of time travel, are tedious. Cutting this theme back in the original film made it at least seem a little mysterious. The directors cut makes that theme more literal , silly, bloated, and self-indulgent. Anyone who assets they found some deep and original meaning here is fooling you and/or themselves.… Expand

Probably one of the best movies I have seen.

This is such a twisted, captivating and alaround stimulating film! The acting is amazing and the plot is original! It just never gets old!

One of the best movies from any genre. Brilliant in every aspect.

Smart and entertaining to anyone under the age of sixteen. If you've matured, see Blade Runner or Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys for a good, intelligent sci/fi movie. Bad acting, bad writing - doesn't deserve the cult classic status that it holds.

Leaves one with the feeling of being alienated by all his friends at school, or of being given a mysterious assignment by a teacher who's just left the room and will only reappear in perplexing nightmares. If that's what the director intended, then he gets an "8" for succeeding; but I give him a "2" for wanting to jerk his audience around like a stuffed animal. Overall, Donnie gets a "5."… Expand

Perhaps the ultimate example of how to tell such an original and bizzare story, Donnie Darko presents some wild and astonishing ideas, and cleverly masks them by masquerading as a film of teen frustration. The film is packed with moments that will make you think for months afterwards, but it is not the individual scenes that shine, rather the whole idea of the film itself. It scatters ideas that come from every direction while threading a somewhat coherent story and some fascinating propistions throughout it. Donnie Darko is a hard film to describe and while not perfect is an absolute must see.… Expand

The most amazing thing about donnie darko is how much praise it has received from both critics and viewers alike considering how really average it is. it's hard for me to believe that film viewers are so easily pleased with such artless photography, a thoughless clumsy narrative and a little lame humor. but i'm glad i saw it after hearing it mentioned so many times by friends. now i know i walk among the living dead.… Expand