The found footage flick, Chronicle opens today!
Three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery. Soon, though, they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.
We want to know what you think. Did you see it? Was it a great way to bend the genre, or was this just another ho-hum feature? Use the comment section below to share your thoughts, reactions, and reviews.
Well… what are you waiting for?
5 Comments
A strong recommend despite flaws… most will be entertained but most won’t love it.
The film is sort of focused… there aren’t many extraneous characters, romances, sub-plots, etc. It is pretty stripped down as found-footage films tend to be… unfortunately, the economy of plot the found-footage mechanism gives the story is undercut by all the exposition surrounding the persistent use of cameras (“Are you filming?”, “Where’s the camera?”, etc. type dialogue). And personally, I always had that nagging question of who found and edited all this footage together, which along with some less-than-perfect effects work hurt suspension of disbelief.
That said, the characters are all relatable, human, and well acted / rendered… they do suffer the typical high school typecasting stereotyping… but in a period where everyone is trying to figure themselves out, people honestly do fall into and cling to such stereotypes as a coping mechanism (how many nerds / geeks have only increased their typification during school?)… so it’s believable with this particular cast even when the specific situations aren’t. Overall, the dialogue and flawed humanity- humor, pain, joy, hanging out, etc- feel sufficiently genuine.
I say the film is sort-of focused because it’s not so much about the powers as it is about one particular character and then the entire film sort of veers off into being about the powers in a way that the film and characters didn’t really “earn” (mild spoiler – the power level is suddenly dramatically higher and a character is dramatically more evil- and someone is correspondingly more heroic), but it’s a semi-satisfying action sequence if you get over the FX and are in it for the TK (alternatively it’s horrifying and cringe-worthy if you’re invested in the characters).
If you’re looking for a film that really investigates TK, where the characters extensively experiment, try to determine the rules, or struggle with the ethics of their own abilities (the Rules in the trailer)… you’ll be a little disappointed. These are “real” teens who are more or less “dumb” about the powers. So it doesn’t really get high-scifi in that sense and you almost feel like this is a world where comic books, scifi, or the concept of telekinesis doesn’t exist (sort of how zombies don’t exist as a concept in The Walking Dead) except that they DO know about TK, but none of that acts as a forewarning for them or research material or spurs them on towards questions…
That said, what you do get- and where the focus is- is the joys, ups and downs, terrors, fun, etc. of discovering new powers. And the film does this very very well. It’s Rami’s Parker on the roof-top “Go web go!”, Daredevil’s training as a kid scene, it’s The Incredibles’ Dash giggling as he discovers he can run on water… for most of the film and that is simply fun to watch. It’s compelling in a reality TV sort of way which the found-footage approach tries to capitalize on.
There are also some clever ideas in there that I can’t talk about without spoiling, but the point is that even though the film doesn’t take a hard-scifi approach, it’s still smart enough and doesn’t betray its premise mostly (that is, even though the film doesn’t focus on the rules- and you might want the characters to explore them- you can see them working in the background).
I’d say this is a must watch for super-power fans and a solid recommendation for just about anyone else except people adverse to films dominated by juvenile males and violence.
I’m really excited to see this, the trailer fascinates me, and seems to suggest that the storyline might be similar to The Invisible Man, where a regular person is corrupted by his powers. Interested to see if the main characters can adapt and not become corrupted beyond saving or if it will end in tragedy like The Invisible Man did.
The ethics of the situation are also a draw to me because I have a degree in philosophy with a focus on ethics.
Max Landis is versed in comics… he just released a 17 short film on the Death And Return of Superman on YouTube. Check it out.
I’m not going to “spoiler” this, but….. Anybody hoping for “an explanation” will be sorely disappointed. That’s about as vaguely as I can make my point, I think. ^_^ Otherwise, enjoy the film!
I thought the film was outstanding. It wasn’t about the explanation or the origin or the powers or the action.
There was very much a main character and the story was about that terribly fine line of morality that some of us walk. That line doesn’t seem so thin when we are constrained by external limitations but, unfettered, the need to control one’s world would be terribly compelling.
We tell ourselves we’d take our powers to rescue kittens and orphans, to protect the innocent, and all of that. But even in that we may be only searching for validity to our very existence.
Why search for external validation when you can make your own rules? Then again, what happens when no amount of power brings you love or true piece of mind?
I found the film gripping in its sub-text. Maybe it’s only because I know exactly where the main character’s viewpoint was coming from, having lived a life much like his own. It makes me glad I am not him and cannot do what he can do.
Ignore the found-footage cam work and the rapid power escalation for the sake of giving the audience a higher action quota. See the movie for what it is: a story of pain made manifest through power.