Buckle up nerds, this is your film. I’m not kidding – if you’re not prepared for it, Chronicle will slap you in the face in the most awesome of ways. That’s why, much to my chagrin, I’m going to try desperately to stay spoiler-free about the major plot points and amazing sequences of Chronicle in this review. Don’t have your friends tell you the coolest parts. Don’t read movie message boards. If you love superhero films and the stories they tell, you owe it to yourself to get yourself to the theater, because Chronicle is everything you could ask for if not a whole lot more.
You may think the superhero genre is growing stale and that you’ve seen all there is to see. Trust me when I tell you, you haven’t seen this yet. I’ll admit, I thought I had this film figured out months ago. I saw the teaser, then the full length trailer, and like many of you, I was mildly curious but scoffed at the idea of another genre’s attempt at the “found footage” movie. Has there really ever been a great found footage movie? (Editor’s note: Cloverfield) I can’t think of one that I’ve wanted to watch again after the first viewing, and with Chronicle I thought I was in for another 90 minutes of headache-inducing shaky-cam shots alongside action that’s too blurry or far away to distinguish what’s actually happening. Boy was I wrong…
…but I’m getting ahead of myself. Chronicle is the story of three high school friends, all very different from each other, but brought closer together after they are imbued with superpowers as the film examines what they decide to do with those abilities and how their lives are affected. Leads Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights), Dane Dehaan and Alex Russel are note-perfect, selling completely believable characters in order to give the film a much-needed heart to balance the grim story. The boys start small but begin to become bold as they get stronger, and you get the impression that this is exactly how real high school kids would act if the powers seen in comics became a reality. Your average adolescent isn’t going to run out and start fighting crime. A teen would use these abilities to show off, gain popularity, and maybe get into a little mischief.
But Chronicle is not a fun happy-go-lucky super-powered teenage romp. Noooooo sir. Sure, the film has its fun moments, but a growing darkness (evident in the earliest scenes with Dehaan’s character, Andrew) slowly permeates the film until suddenly things start to go very, very wrong, and once that switch is fully flipped, there’s no going back – and it’s scary. Think a live-action Akira without all the weird anime insanity that came along with it. Andrew’s fall is sad and brutal, made all the more tragic because he’s a victim that’s in an awful and relatable place – an abusive father, a dying mother, and outcast status to everyone but the movie’s main hero character, his cousin Matt (Alex Russell). Dehaan puts in a star-making performance that is complex and layered on multiple levels as a kid who has no business having the power that is dropped in his lap. There is a sadness and volatility in his eyes that makes him seem dangerous, even in times where his character is thoroughly happy on screen.
We may be witnessing the start of a very special directorial career with the debut of the talented Josh Trank. He achieves things never before seen in these types of films, and in doing so frees Chronicle from many of the annoying conventions used in “found footage” movies. One such clever choice is allowing Andrew, as his powers increase, to control the camera with his mind rather than holding it. Not only does it make the film look that much better when the action really escalates, but it adds to character development by showing the detachment that Andrew is facing. Much like many of today’s tech-savvy teens, Andrew uses the camera to create a wall between himself and society, and he doesn’t relate to or sympathize with them because he sees them as nothing more than people on a screen. In his own eyes, he’s “evolved” and these people are beneath him – truly scary stuff, and a brilliant tactic by the director.
The one major concern I had going into the film was that it would skimp on spectacle because of the minimal $12m budget and the use of the whole handheld-camera gimmick thing, but Trank certainly didn’t let those potential traps restrict him – he puts every penny up on that screen while making it brim with creative visual innovation. Unlike other modern movies that reveal every money shot in the preview, Chronicle wisely holds back a lot. The full-on throwdown in the climax of the film is only hinted at in the trailers, and it’s amazing, making the film look much more expensive picture than its pricetag. Not only that, but Trank has so much fun in the final battle with different camera angles and vantage points that it becomes a visual feast with something new at every turn. Let’s just say that any bit of technology with video capability is fair game to allow the audience a view of the super brawl crescendo.
My complaints are few and very minor. Chronicle is a shining example of getting the dark superhero story right while adding in a bit of the reality that is demanded in every fantastical story told these days. And believe me when I say, this film is dark. It’s as dark as any superhero film that has come before, but it’s also refreshingly original and extremely well-directed. See this movie now before everyone starts talking about it and the hype gets to be too much for it to meet your expectations. Because Chronicle is a welcome surprise and for my money easily the best found footage film made to date, as well as an absolutely fantastic superhero film.
FINAL SCORE: 9/10
SECOND OPINION
While Peter Parker lived by the creed “with great power comes great responsibility,” Chronicle shows us the other side of the coin – what happens when the power is too much responsibility to bear? What happens when it’s too much to control? What happens when we allow ourselves to be corrupted? Make no mistake, this is the polar opposite of the Spider-Man legend, and first-time director Josh Trank sets this film apart from the pack by forging a bold, captivating story that goes much darker than viewers will expect. An incredibly impressive debut, and a remarkable cinematic experience that shouldn’t be missed.
FINAL SCORE: 9/10
— Brent