Movie: Chronicle
Release Date: February 3, 2012
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: Joshua Trank
Screenwriter: Max Landis, Joshua Trank
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell, Michael Kelly
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense action and violence, thematic material, some language, sexual content and teen drinking)
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/Chronicle
IMDB Rating: N/A
Story: The superhero movie has had countless reboots and reinventions over the years, transitioning from light to campy to dark and then back again. The genre has been deconstructed by M. Night Shyamalan and turned into an art-form by Christopher Nolan, while in recent years it has become a staple of the summer movie season, with comic book adaptations dominating the multiplexes. But it's never been given the found footage treatment - until now that is.
Chronicle tells the story of three average kids whose investigation of a mysterious hole in the ground results in their gaining superpowers. It starts off with telekinesis, the guys levitating potato chips, Lego, baseballs and cuddly toys, and doing what any average teenage boy would do - using it to see up girls' skirts.
But as they hone their skills, so their powers increase, the trio developing the ability to destroy cars and buildings, and even learning how to fly. But - as we're regularly told - with great power comes great responsibility, and so the talented triumvirate introduce rules by which to live, including not using their powers in public, not talking about them, and most importantly, not using them on another human being.
Teenagers being teenagers however, and possessing all the angst and anger that goes with the territory, the heroic honeymoon period doesn't last long. Cracks quickly start to appear in their friendship, the rules are soon smashed to smithereens and the actions of one of their number turn increasingly dark and dangerous, with truly devastating consequences.
It's a story that's been told countless times, most recently in X-Men: First Class, but director Josh Trank has given the story his own original and utterly compelling spin. The script - which was written by Max Landis - is both smart and sophisticated, and features countless clever twists and turns.
Their story ingeniously toys with audience sympathies, blurring the line between protagonist and antagonist, and building up to a genuinely gripping finale that manages to be both visually and emotionally satisfying.
Trank fares less well with the found footage aspect of the film however, Chronicle suffering from the same problems that dog all efforts of its ilk; namely that the characters constantly - and often clumsily - have to explain why they are filming events rather than just living them.
It does create an interesting psychological barrier between our heroes and the world around them, but too often you are left wondering why they continue to shoot proceedings when downing tools and helping a friend in need would seem like a more natural course of action.
However, they do cleverly circumnavigate the problem in Chronicle's gripping second half, with one of the characters learning to levitate the camera, enabling him to effectively direct his own life, and thereby the film's final few scenes.
The shaky-cam concept also requires the cast to truly sell the conceit or risk it turning into a series of loosely linked YouTube clips. Mercifully, Chronicle succeeds on all acting fronts, most notably through a trio of star-making performances at its heart.
Michael B. Jordan is charisma personified as Steve, the smart, successful class president candidate whose life is further charmed by the arrival of the powers.
Alex Russell is likeably charming as Matt, a clumsy, philosophy-spouting pseudo-intellectual with a good heart and a wicked sense of humour.
And Dane DeHaan - who looks disconcertingly like a young Leonardo DiCaprio - is a revelation as Andrew, a troubled kid with a tough home-life, for whom the powers offer fleeting happiness and popularity before opening a door to something more sinister.
Their naturalistic performances - complemented by the consistently sharp script - mean that not only do you believe what they are going through, but you also really root for these guys, making Chronicle a film about friendship as much as it is about superpowers.
The result is a superhero movie that works on several levels, and one that really nails the 'gaining superpowers' concept. These kids aren't searching for truth or justice, they're just trying to get laid, and the film's early scenes are a thrilling celebration of self-discovery, no more so than when the guys first realise they can fly.
But acquiring super-powers doesn't necessarily mean you also develop a sound moral compass, and as the humour and joy slowly drains out of Chronicle, the film turns into a thought-provoking examination of the psychological problems that come with effectively becoming God.
So not only does Chronicle succeed in giving the superhero movie a found footage spin, but it also manages to bring something new to the sub-genre, resulting in a film that goes deeper than the average comic book adaptation, and heralds the arrival of genuinely exciting moviemaking talent in the shape of Josh Trank.
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