Chronicle (2012)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Don't listen to the negative reviews

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I not normally a fan of hand camera movies a la Blair Witch and Cloverfield, neither of which I liked, so going into this movie with its shooting style wasn't going to win me over.Except it did. It was compellin, well acted and I could see myself following a very similar path to the main characters.A flick through the reviews you can see people love or hate it. This is surely down to the handicam shooting. I would like to have seen it as a traditional shooting style.Either way, this is definitely worth a watch .

In its examination of human beings becoming superbeings through acquired special powers, the 2012 movie "Chronicle" from Josh Trank and Max Landis actually goes little further than Star Trek's second pilot of 1966 entitled "Where No Man Has Gone Before". This is nevertheless a very competent, well-told, mostly-sparing and surprisingly well-acted piece of work. While the special effects occasionally look creaky, this does not detract from the core issue here of an unlikely but growing and initially heartwarming friendship between likeable young characters played with considerable professionalism by Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan. The fact that the powers inevitably lead those who wield them astray (after initial pleasure and popularity) leaves the film edgy from almost the outset, and the second fact that DeHaan's character Andrew Detmer is so much worse off (in several ways) than his colleagues does not provide the kind of "we need to forgive him under the circumstances" leeway you might anticipate. He's one of life's victims, he's suffered quite a bit, but that does not let him off the hook, and this is actually quite a tangibly tough message.Given that none of us are likely to encounter an alien source dispensing this kind of special force any time soon, we are entitled to ask why a film such as "Chronicle" should be made at all - or watched. But the truth is that there is much of merit here, so the exploration of these fanciful circumstances remains instructive, and of course salutary. And it's far more than comic-book in its genuineness and - at times - considerable intensity.

So many movies consist of a band of unlikely people who are brought together by something intense - it's also common nowadays for films to be about teenagers acquiring powers. However, Chronicle is a new twist on the cliché. The way of filming is already the first obvious twist as it is shot in "found footage" style. The added fact that the camera is supposedly moved by the boys mind is even more interesting. Not only did the cinematography bring a fresh take on such a common basic story, the actual plot in it's entirety really added a boost of something new. I can't say too much as I don't want to spoil the movie, but I would highly recommend this movie to somebody who's interested in "found footage" style of films and films that defy the clichés.

Back in 2012, a year with all sorts of crazy blockbusters including Skyfall, Avengers Assemble, The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Amazing Spider-Man (wowzerz, and the list goes on…), this particular film came around from beneath people's noses with all kinds of shaky cam blazing and became somewhat of a hit. A lot of great films came out in that year, much more than we've been graced with in 2016, and I never managed to watch Chronicle until today, a thriller that mildly impressed a good portion of movie watchers. I, too, was mildly impressed.It follows the story of three high school students, Andrew Detmer, Matt Garetty and Steve Montgomery in Seattle who gain telekinetic superpowers after exploring a mysterious underground cave on a night out. The three something-teens are brought together into an unlikely friendship, linking the shy and odd Andrew with the popular and outgoing Steve as they have unimaginable fun with their ridiculous abilities. However, when Andrew embraces his dark side with his powers, things start to spiral out of control and their friendship is tested (to the max).It all starts when Andrew (the main character of the movie) begins filming everything in his life with his camera, and he is dragged into a party that eventually leads to the excitable exploration of said mysterious underground cave where weird shizzle happens and they come out being able to control the movement of objects without touching them – including, eventually, themselves, in a sense, as they fly around the joint. The problem is with the plot is, in the first half-an-hour or so, everything is a bit slow, and a bit boring. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't think the film was going to be that great when Andrew was slowly perving on cheer girls and walking around a bit. Even so, we get to learn more about Andrew, Matt and Steve as the film goes through this slow progression, and so although enjoyment factor is greatly crappified, the character development is given good time to grow.Chronicle's gradual and frankly boring progression, however, is followed by a (mostly) thrilling and fast-paced hour or so of sinister and bloody friendship tests, as the film introduces itself to a much higher entertainment medium. Things go from fun and goofy to dark and edgy (…THE EDGE IS FINE) in the flick of a switch around the half- hour mark when Andrew uses his powers to hospitalize some bloke in a truck.With it's shaky camera-work and dark undertones, Chronicle, I'd say, is a pretty cool film. Its found footage cinematography and its use of interesting premise help it to reach 'pretty cool' heights, along with its silent score and anti-protagonist Andrew. I'd call him that because he's a douche, but he's the guy who gets the most screen- time (like a protagonist) and I felt sorry for him because he sort of became a douche because of his long suffering at school and at home.Something that is great about Chronicle is that it is completely honest, and there are no smoothed edges by the giant sandpaper in L.A; the fact it is means that the characters' actions can be easily relatable, and the dialogue, school bullying and action sequences can be fittingly brutal — which in turn means the film has the power to control your emotions as the viewer, because everything you see you can believe. However, the trolling by the teenage trio when they first obtain their powers is fun, but doesn't utilize that aforementioned ability to give you these emotions, because unfortunately I wasn't pushed to hysterics. There is also a slightly tacked on romance (of sorts) between Matt and some girl, which I didn't care much about, and there is a slightly lacklustre ending.Even so, the more sinister and violent side of the film is immense, as the bloody climax is thrilling, and not at all overblown like one of Marvel's shiny-fests. I got over the fact that it got a bit ridiculous towards the end, because it was more intense than anything I've seen in a while, and the cool factor was pushed to awesome with all the super-charged explosions and telekinetic terrorism. Andrew changed from a weird kid in some corner to a demi- god from the timid start to the explosive finish, and that progression saw the incredible climax it needed. The other two of the three super-powered mates also saw fantastic character development through the run-time, as Micheal B. Jordan and the bunch put across believable and genuine performances, and were helped by a brutally honest script (get that sandpaper away from me, Zak Snyder!).Chronicle is also a film that gets you thinking. It's not just a few teenagers flying around. The dark side's vicious admission makes you question the human soul and underlines how easy it is for someone to turn on their conscience, whilst also reminding you of the power of friendship and all dat. I apologize for the rubbishy analytical turn this review took. Let's go back to basics.Chronicle isn't perfect, but it manages to push its flaws aside. It totally redeems itself with its brilliantly intense atmosphere, relatable characters and brutal realism on show, all delivered through unique camera-work and nailed down with a solid premise.