Chronicle (2012) Review

Superhero movies are all the rage these days, mostly being adapted from well-known comic books like Spider-Man or even less appreciated comic books like Captain America. Lately, however, there have been a few movies that have tried to have a unique take on the genre. In 2008, there were two movies that attempted this, both of which were box office hits but both of which had poor critical reception. The first was Jumper, where the unexplained powers are given to a kid and he utilizes them to do whatever the hell he wants to do. Oh, it's a mess; the character never gets his comeuppance in the end, the cinematography is awful, and Hayden Christensen is more wooden than a pine tree; but it was interesting to finally get a realistic take on what a kid like that would do with such powers. The second was Hancock, where the hero is stubborn and has to pay for the consequences of his actions. That one, despite the poor critical reception, I really enjoyed. Chronicle attempts to combine the morals of those two movies, and the result is a surprisingly unique and dramatic take on the superhero genre.







The movie follows Andrew Detmer, a kid in high school played by Dane DeHaan. He lives with his jackass father and his dying mother, while also getting rides to school from his cousin, Matt, played by Alex Russel. One day, Matt and his buddy, Steve, played by Michael B. Jordan, go down a deep hole where they find a mysterious crystal object that ends up giving them telekinesis. Once they learn how to control it off-screen, they start using it to play pranks on people and just generally do whatever the heck they want to do. But after a while, they find that their pranks are getting out of hand. Matt decides that they should be more responsible for how they use their powers, but Andrew's emotional conflicts get the best of him, and he starts using his powers to do drastic things.


What makes Andrew much more relatable than David Rice from Jumper is that he's not actually just a dumb kid. He's a shy kid who never had any real friends and is emotionally twisted due to his father's stubborn and brutal nature. He simply gets into the pranks because it brings him a joy that he never felt before, and he can't help but feel bad about himself once his pranks go a step too far. Matt and Steve are just stupid kids who try to learn from their mistakes and use their powers for good, harmless fun. Andrew uses his powers just to do things that will allow him to let out his emotion, and he progressively takes things too far, ultimately turning himself into a villain. It's reminiscent of the black-suited Spider-Man concept, minus the emo Parker.


So, while Chronicle is a great take on the idea of teenage superheroes, there is one problem I had with the movie. It's a found-footage movie, meant to look like a documentary where the footage from a casual home video camera is used, much like in Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. The difference here is that while they mostly use a camera that Andrew bought before he got his powers, they also like to utilize several cameras, including security cameras, iPads, cell phones, and the blog camera of Matt's female friend. The placement of these cameras is so clever that the cinematography is established to look like a real movie.


So, what's my problem? Well, why does it need to be this way? This style is often times used to make the movie feel more real, but come on, you really expect us to believe that THIS is real? Paranormal Activity was acceptable in that context, but this is a little too over-the-top to be believable. Now, to be fair, they do try to explain why Andrew decides to film everything he does. He says it creates a barrier between him and the real world, and considering how shy he is, that's exactly what he wants. However, all this taping of his does is tick people off. He might have been picked on before, but a lot of people he films are camera shy and go as far as to beat him up for filming them. So really, it just makes things worse. Considering how the cinematography is established anyway, it might as well be just a regular movie.


Despite that tidbit, Chronicle is a great entry into the superhero genre, and yet another winter release that really works. Highly recommended.


This movie is worth $17 out of $20.