Sometimes, superpowers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. That seems to be the lesson in Chronicle, a surprisingly good, relatively low-budget film that came out of nowhere to add a new take to the found-footage genre and the blockbuster superhero movie.
Chronicle tells the story of a high school loser named Andrew who comes from an abusive family, and with his cousin and the school’s student president, finds a mysterious rock in a hole in the ground that gives all three of them superpowers.
One of the coolest things about Chronicle is the way that it’s filmed. It presents itself as a documentary-style movie, like The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity movies, only here, you won’t be throwing up after watching the movie.
At the start of the film, Andrew decides to buy a camera and film his life, just adding onto his creepiness as a character. But in an ingenious film making move, once Andrew can do telekinesis, he levitates the camera, allowing it to follow him through parties, flights and fights. Add to that security camera footage, cell phone footage, and even another blogger’s video camera, and you manage to get a convincing documentary-style blockbuster film.
This movie looks really good, especially when considering that it was made cheaply, for almost a tenth of the cost of the most recent Twilight movie, despite having much more convincing special effects. From when the kids are just discovering their powers by building Lego towers, to a climatic final battle, the special effects manage to be fantastical and believable.
Where Chronicle succeeds most is in its story. The “kid finds mysterious object and gains superpowers” story is nothing new (see: Spiderman, The Green Lantern), but what sets Chronicle apart is that it’s not afraid to tell a dark story. Andrew’s father is drunk and abusive, and Andrew is a bit insane. What starts out innocently enough (the three friends performing immature pranks like scaring a child with a hovering teddy bear in a store) soon escalates into disastrous territory. And going down that pitch black, dark road is very fun to watch.
This isn’t a perfect movie. In a couple moments, it can reach Transformers’ noise levels, and despite being very good overall, the special effects do have the occasional slipup during flight scenes. And the plot, while different from most mainstream superhero movies, isn’t going to shock you like The Sixth Sense.
All that said, Chronicle is an unexpectedly good movie, with some solid acting, special effects and a compelling story. Luckily, it doesn’t share too much with Transformers besides the noise issue. It’s creative and fun, and knows not to overstay its welcome. Especially for a movie with such humble beginnings, Chronicle is a success.
