There really is no way to properly start this without going into how excited I was to see this movie. The marketing team behind Chronicle was nothing short of remarkable as the buzz captured my full and undivided attention instantly. Such a simple concept, three teens get super powers but eventually they get drunk with power. That is originally what I thought this movie was about. I could not have been more wrong.
Directed by: Josh Trank
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Dane DeHaan, and Alex Russell
It is no easy task reviewing this movie. It is pretty short, running approx 83 minutes and I don’t want to give anything away so I will do my best to make this thing spoiler free. Ok, so everyone knows that these three kids get powers. Even after seeing the movie I’m not entirely sure what all their powers were, but you just need to understand they are extremely powerful. But boys getting powers is not what this movie is about. It is about three boys on separate journeys, who learn to come together due to these powers. Like I said I won’t go too in depth as I don’t want to spoil anything, but this is one of those stories where you know things are not headed in a good direction regardless of how much these guys value each other’s friendship.
The real reason why this concept works so well is due to the incredibly emotional story Max Landis and Josh Trank were able to come up with. A story about three super-powered boys and things getting a little out of hand, well that’s one story. Then there is the story that they came up with, and I assure you its a hundred times better than the latter of the two. I think this is a fantastic stand alone movie, but if anyone could come up with a decent sequel, it’s these two guys.
The special effects were very cool, but not as over the top as I thought they would be, which in some strange way made it better. I still fell into the belief that there were kids flying and moving objects with their mind, though I didn’t feel like it was the greatest CGI ever, but for some reason it worked! I don’t know if it felt more real that way, or if I was just so lost in the story that the CGI didn’t really matter. Don’t get me wrong it still looks good, it just doesn’t look like a summer blockbuster good.
Comedic elements to the movie were really well done. I laughed just as much as I gasped. I gasped just as much as I dropped my jaw. It was a found footage film but it did not feel like a found footage film. The acting was very well done. The star is most certainly Dane DeHaan as the story is told from his perspective but the other two actors (Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell) were just as good. I had never seen Michael B. Jordan in anything before but with the way he brings a kind of charisma that not a lot of actors can pull off in this day and age I was very impressed. The stars of the movie aren’t the only ones who show some acting chops as Michael Kelly plays Dane DeHaan’s dad who is a drunk ex-firefighter. He brings some serious heat to this film(pun intended) as he and DeHaan have some truly disturbing scenes together that made me almost cringe, but I was completely enthralled with the chemistry.
In closing, this movie is everything I had hoped for. Not the greatest super hero movie of all time, but most certainly not the worst (I’m looking at you X-Men: The Last Stand). Go see it for the story, go see it for the incredibly clever use of powers, go see it for the characters, but most of all go see it because it’s a good movie. It takes a disturbing turn out of nowhere and never apologizes. Go see this movie!
Tags: Alex Russell, Chronicle, comic booked, Comics, Dane DeHaan, Josh Trank, Max Landis, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, movies, Nick Furious, Superheroes
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Great review! Trank is in early discussions to reboot the Fantastic Four property and from the looks of Chronicle I think he may be a perfect fit.
This movie still sounds awesome!
One question though… X3 is the worst comic movie of all time? What about Batman & Robin?
lol valid contradiction.