REVIEW: Chronicle

Kids with powers. But still kids.


The idea of a bunch of teens getting superhero powers and pissing about sounds like good fun. However, Chronicle concentrates on how all it takes is one unhinged mind and you've got a villain on your hands.

The story follows a classic 'found footage' formula (something which becomes very annoying) as three kids stumble onto an unknown meteorite of some sort and soon find themselves able to move things, fly and more.

Quite a cool, original concept written by John Landis's son Max and directed by a young Josh Trank. It's definitely ambitious and exciting in that you can relate to how 'normal' (in an American High School way) these kids are compared to the Marvel type superheroes we come across in the cinema these days. However, it's still an extremely flawed film.

Namely, the use of videocameras and such is absurd and the subplots are useless. The main character of the film, Andrew, is a pathetic, bullied, creepy, annoying person who I would like to slap. So when his father starts doing it, I'm inclined to think he deserved it (not that I condone hitting kids but, Andrew is really really annoying, and anyway the kid is dangerous, and not exactly a kid). So when Andrew starts using his powers to hurt and destroy it's soon up to his mates to sort him out. It's about friendship, but it's not really.

The bullied kid trying to get through high school with an abusive father is boring and cheesy, Dane DeHaan does well as a tortured young soul but ultimately he's a dick. The playing with the powers is fun, in a Jackass kind of way, but when the battle starts to heat up at the end it feels like it's over before it's begun. It would have made a cool short but I felt like there was so much filler in there that I'd be hard pushed to want to watch it again.

Nice idea and Trank, for 27 years old, is someone to keep an eye on. In fact, it's been reported he's going to do the movie of Shadow of the Colossus which is, for me, a huge deal. So watch Chronicle if you have nothing to do but don't get too excited, end of the day it's as if Superman went to Columbine.

Review: 5/10