CHRONICLE Movie Review
By: RAMA
What did RAMA think of CHRONICLE. Make sure to follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
I’ve got two words for CHRONICLE: Super Cool!
What a fantastic film! So much fun! The three characters on the screen havin’ a blast with their superpowers and we the audience get to have a blast with them, CHRONICLE is that engaging! I’m not too crazy about found footage or POV genre but writer Max Landis and director Josh Trank have crafted something that allows not just the character’s camera but every other freakin’ camera that’s around, to help tell the story. And I admire the fact that the film doesn’t shy away from the usual adolescent problems, it’s pretty much a relatable teen movie but it’s also got awesome superpowers..
Directed by Josh Trank and written by John Landis and his son, Max, the movie stars Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell and Michael Kelly.
three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to them developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities, and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.
When I watched the previews and trailers, I thought I was in for some kind of wanna be X-Men but minus the costume and minus a mentor ala Xavier, but CHRONICLE is nowhere near that comparison at all.
The two powers presented in this film are telekinesis, which is moving objects with your mind, and flying, one of the top most coveted powers ever, who the hell wouldn’t want to fly?!
Of the three key characters, I think it’s fair to say that Andrew (Dane DeHaan) is the lead. His story, his personal dilemma, becomes the motivating factor for the epic conflict that awaits in the third act. Matt (Alex Russell) is his cousin and Steve (Michael B. Jordan) is the popular jock. In a normal world, there’s no way that these three could’ve been friends, not in another lifetime either, but as soon as they gain superpowers, there’s a bond, a friendship created, it’s as if they’ve formed their own fraternity that only they could play in.
If you’re a teen and you suddenly find that you could fly and move objects without touching them, saving people or being a hero would not be the first thing that comes to your mind, that’s just the honest truth and that’s why CHRONICLE is fun because it shows what any normal teen would do if they’re granted superpowers beyond their imagination. They’d pull pranks, they’d use it to see girls’ underwear and the list goes on, they’d even play football 30,000 feet above ground. The flying sequences are my favorite because they’re absolutely thrilling. The VFX is impressive for something that’s not a summer big budget type film.
And as I mentioned earlier, what CHRONICLE does is tell the story from the perspective of more than just Andrew’s camera. Especially the big fight scene at the end, you get to see it through traffic cameras, helicopter cameras, building security cameras, and regular folks’ handycam. And because the character Andrew is supposedly skilled at handling cameras, what you get is a more steady, less dizzying presentation as opposed to other found footage films like Cloverfield for example.
Any teen with problems at home could relate to the frustrations that Andrew, Matt, and Steve feel. None of their problems are far-fetched, their powers may be, but their problems aren’t. Taking it out on the world,.. not being there when you’re needed the most,.. those kinds and more make CHRONICLE a grounded, unique film.
GRADE: 4 out of 5
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