Chronicle is a movie about something every single one of us has dreamt about at some point or another: What if a normal, average teenager suddenly began developing superpowers?
It’s a timeless trope, and it’s something that resonates with everyone who’s ever sat in traffic wishing they could fly away, been bullied and fantasized of having the power to defend oneself, or stared up at the sky and wondered what it would really feel like to fly… e.g. every one of us.
Chronicle does a really great job of conveying that feeling. The amazement and wonder of the kids as they first discover their budding but still weak powers is believable and makes you want to cheer for them while at the same time feeling that deep twinge of childish jealousy and wonder… “Man, if only I could do that, it would be so cool”. It’s no secret from the box art and theatrical trailers that the kids learn how to fly, and the scenes where they are flying are really visceral—and I know this sounds odd considering we’re talking about flying teenagers—as well as totally believable. The sheer joy of superhero flight comes through very strongly, and for a moment you are soaring with them as they discover what it’s like above the Earth.
The first half of the movie shines, as it shows the three friends exploring and mastering their powers, despite some pretty juvenile dialogue and situations. The predictability starts to set in around the halfway point, however, when you know exactly which of the three is going to turn sour.
It’s as if they wanted a “good kid gone wrong” superhero, and the only thing they could come up with to document his desire to become a villainous monster was the standard alcoholic & abusive father/bullied at school scenario—as if this is the only possible way to explain how someone could grow powerful and hurt people with no messy guilt. There’s no complexity or real depth to any of the three super-powered high schoolers. I guess I hoped for some more creative character development but they just dialed it in to “troubled teen” and ran with it.
Besides the lack of any likable characters, the dialogue was extremely redundant. I swear the last fifteen minutes of the film involve one character shouting to another “You have to stop!” and “Why are you doing this?” over and over again. It was really annoying.
The final scene is pretty damned awesome, though. The level of special effects is on par with any current summer action flick, and the conclusion is surprisingly satisfying, in spite of the characters.
The movie is supposed to be filmed in the “found footage” style, in which we are led to believe that the movie we’re watching was assembled from home video cameras carried by the characters. It doesn’t really come across that well, especially since one of the kids learns to levitate the camera during their exploits and suddenly becomes an expert cinematographer. They could have left out the whole concept of the movie being “found footage” and not lost anything in the process.
One thing I’m very happy about is that they didn’t bother to explore the origin of the powers. Other than a quick exposure to a mysterious glowing crystalline object underground, they leave it to your imagination, which is something far better than spending significant screen time explaining something that will most like just come across as lame anyway. It’s similar to what they did with Cloverfield; we just simply don’t know why this monster is ravaging New York. Not important. The story is better off for it.
Chronicle is definitely worth seeing, although it’s probably not going to be something you’ll want to see again and again. The end doesn’t really leave it too wide open for a sequel, but of course if Chronicle makes money there most likely will be.
I watched the movie with two 14-year-old boys, and the conclusion at the end was unanimous: “Eh, it was pretty good”.
Chronicle will be out on DVD, digital download, and Blu-ray on May 15th. You can pre-order it from Amazon. You can also keep up with the film on Facebook.
WIN A COPY OF CHRONICLE on DVD
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment was kind enough to provide a DVD copy of Chronicle to give away to one of our community members. To enter, follow @FoxHomeEnt on Twitter, and comment on this post with what superpower the teens in the movie have (is it invisibility, mind reading, or telekinesis?) and next week we’ll choose a random winner.
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