2012 Review #6: Chronicle

Chronicle

Rated PG-13

1 Hour 24 Minutes

Starring
Dane DeHaan
Alex Russell
Michael B. Jordan

MY GRADE:
A

I love reading reviews for "found footage" movies and have to read how people knock them down for not having goals or solid stories. I don't think people realize that when it comes to found footage movies, typical movie format kind of goes out the window. The idea being what we are watching is raw footage from one or more cameras with a series of events that was not planned out (story wise) or edited. We are watching people experience these events for the first time just like us, the audience. Because it's a movie, there of course, has to be a point, but you should not expect a big, complicated story because as common as these films are these days, the format is still different than regular films. Point is, watch the movie with slightly different eyes and stop being so snobby for heaven's sake.

Now onto the actual film in question, Chronicle. This very well may be the biggest surprise of a movie I've seen in the past year or so. I was not expecting the movie to be this entertaining. I didn't think the idea of teenage superhero mixed with found footage could come off as fresh or original, but I was wrong. No, the hand held, shaky camera thing is not original, obviously. What I mean is, this gimmick has been done over and over and over but Chronicle managed to make it something new and cool. It wasn't just one camera the whole time. There were many cameras involved, mainly towards the end though. Also, you see characters asking the character holding the camera "why are you filming this?" a few times. After a while, the main character becomes obsessed using the camera, so it's all explained. The camera is basically a character in the film. It's used in cool ways too, because these guys have telekinesis he is able to move the camera without touching it.

The "story" here is about 3 teenagers who discover some weird underground tunnel and there is a strange glowing rock at the end. They interact with it, and next thing we know, they have these crazy powers. The main kid, Andrew played by Dane DeHaan, is constantly bullied at school and at home by his drunk abusive father. His mother is also dying a slow and painful death. He has a lot to be angry over. Anger plus these new powers does not equal anything remotely good. At first, the three teens use these powers for small, funny things. Spooking people at retail stores, moving a strangers car from one spot to another. They then learn they can fly because they can essentially move themselves. Andrew starts to become popular, but that only lasts for a moment when he is quickly humiliated and we get a very explosive final act.

Chronicle is basically a super villain/hero origin story. So it's not jam packed full of action. This is definitely primarily a story based film and most of the intense action comes in the final act. The writing here is fantastic. Obviously this is not a believable film, but the writer managed to make these characters relateable...to a certain degree. I was bullied in school, so I know how our main character felt. I can tell you that that aspect was done quite realistically. And there's nothing more gratifying then seeing him snap and get some revenge. This is like a fantasy for all kids in school who were bullied. Andrew has a great quote in the film basically saying that no one cares when you squash a fly or when the lion eats the gazelle. It's dark, but true. It really puts the film in a nutshell. This is a very dark story, it's not your typical flashy superhero movie with silly dialog. In a sense, this a story about real kids with real problems who gain a super ability and do not always use it for good. It shows that anger plus power (super or not super) is always a bad combination.

The three stars of the film are all very very good. It's nice to see young actors who are all fairly unfamiliar in the industry pull off such realistic and deep performances. Especially in a movie about super powers. They were believable as a trio of friends and acted like actual teenagers. It was Dane DeHaan though who shines here. He pulls of a very raw and almost creepy performance as the main troubled teen. I believed him, and that's important in something like this. It's not common you get any level of depth in a hand held camera film. So for me, it was totally refreshing to have that here. I mean, the movie almost comes off as one of those indy flicks that snobs like me enjoy.

This movie may not even be for everyone. I don't think this is a movie for the typical summer super hero movie going crowd. You aren't going to see scene after scene of fighting and explosions. With this movie, you have to be patient. It's about the story, and it has to unfold before you get to the big climatic fight sequence at the end. And it's a big scene. Very loud, very fast paced, very explosive and very intense. Well worth the wait in my opinion. The visual effects were really well done for the most part. I thought the scenes of them flying above the clouds were kind of silly, but it wasn't that bad. A lot of it though was really impressive. Even the little things like the bear levitating in the store (which was a funny moment!). The really cool stuff though was all the action at the end. Cars were flying everywhere, buses thrown through mid air, people flying, things go boom, helicopters are tossed around, glass shatters all over the place. It was super cool to look at.

I was thoroughly impressed with Chronicle. It was well done, has great writing, solid performances and just fun to watch. I love movies like this that just entertain the hell out of me. Chronicle was a blast, and the best movie I've seen so far in 2012.