Chronicle
Chris Landis, PNN Staff
February 14, 2012
Filed under Entertainment, Movies, Top Stories
“This is me. This is who I am now.”
Chronicle is a found-footage superhero movie- the first of its kind, a Google search reveals. The only downside to this is that it takes away from a quality movie, with a solid script, awesome special effects, and convincing performances from its young actors.
Here is a film that borrows much from its older brothers, but still has something fresh to offer us, in the form of a cast whose future career is assured, thanks to this surprising and thoroughly satisfying flick. Its protagonist, Andrew, is a Donnie Darko-type, quiet and shy at school, but we know these kinds are always hiding something. Bullied by students at school and by his alcoholic father, he decides to begin videotaping his life, “just because.” One night, at a party he is uncomfortable at, he is recruited to document a finding made outside by the school’s popular kid, Steve. Steve is kind enough to Andrew, but things get shaky fast when the kids develop telekinetic powers.
Numerous times throughout the film, that proverb we’ve all heard too many times from the “Spiderman” films popped into my head: “With great power comes great responsibility.” It’s a wonder to watch how the disturbed Andrew reacts to the people around him with his newfound abilities: his alcoholic father, his fellow telekinetics. If the film is a testament to anything, it’s the dangers of alcohol, school cliques, and the power of the human mind.
The movie is quiet where it needs to be, and loud where it doesn’t. It follows “the formula,” but is redeemed by its awesome special effects, including but not limited to a climax based in the air, outside the Space Needle in Seattle. It succeeds in its vision: where it’s rough around the edges, it’s also awe-inspiring. Where the film is most debatable is reality in the little things, such as the grace Andrew uses to levitate his camera while crunching a car with his mind, or the teenage boys’ ability to keep such a large discovery a secret.
My only wish was that I had seen the film with a more responsive audience. There’s something special when an audience all reacts similarly to an event in the movie, particularly when they are audible about something visual. But alas, I was the guy loudly reacting (and possibly obscenely) when everyone else was quiet. (4/5)
MPAA: PG-13 / Dir: Josh Trank / Running time: 83 min / Release: 2/3/12 / Screened: 2/4/12 Review: 2/5/12
