Chronicle (2012) Review

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Synopsis:

This is as real as it gets.

Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. Each with a distinctive personality and each facing relatable challenges that come with being in high school, forming new friendships, and exploring new facets of their ever-changing lives. They’re imperfect, awkward, and a little reckless…they could be you.

Review

Super Powers. I am quite sure that most of us, if not all of us have at one time during our lives fantasised about having super powers; not to mention what it would be like to use them, what kind of powers we could have or how it would change our lives. Gladly the only thing I knew about this film is a slight bio on what it was about and that it is in POV (Point of View) format. I do enjoy my POV films so I was a little more than intrigued to see how it was going to be pulled off. To say the least, it was a very enjoyable flick.

The film begins with a brief-ish intro to our characters. We almost learn scene by scene as to what kind of people they portray and what lives they have, as to distinguish each cast member from one another and why they play out their roles the way they do. The three main characters are very well chosen and fit each other’s personalities perfectly, to form a good trio. What makes this movie really shine is that we get to see from a first person perspective what it may be like to get “powers” and how we could use them. The character’s different personas helped here as not everyone would act in the same fashion, had they to acquire these abilities. The way the events unravel is done in a realistic manner and could actually take place (if it were real), which makes it feel more genuine.

The story, as you should have an inkling about may be a bit straight forward, but the way it unfolds makes it unique. You keep wondering what could happen next, or want to see what the trio would get up to/achieve, sometimes with hilarious results which adds nicely to the human nature of the production. However it’s not all fun and games and there is a serious undertone to the film, as quoted from Spiderman – “With great power, comes great responsibility”. It would be hard to capture every moment on camera, but they do manage to garner the cusp of what makes a good, interesting story.

The camera work is just marvellous! I know a few people who don’t like this kind of cinematography (POV) and I could almost feel some viewers in the theatre tense up as the film started, thinking, “oh no, not one of these films”. In all honesty, don’t let it put you off. If you are worried about shaky cameras and heavy motion, this POV film definitely has a much more stable feel to it. It may get faster towards the ends, but it is a lot more manageable than most films of the same style I have watched before. Their powers are even incorporated into having a better view scale with the cameras, which I thought was a great idea and worked wonderfully to give us a host more creative scenes.

As for the special effects, it all comes down to the abilities and how our leads use them. It does look bloody real at times and was great to watch them discover what they were capable of. Some of the CGI felt a little low budget and could have been better, but thankfully wasn’t over used. It was awesome to view the use of their powers and to experience their excitement! I couldn’t help but feel I was sharing these amazing moments in their lives with them.

At the end of the day, “Chronicle” has the feeling of what it may be like to have a super power (albeit only for a short period of time) and it succeeds. It’s a POV film with a difference and nice to see the idea branch off in another direction for once. It has done considerably well at the box office costing $15million and has gone on to gross $63million.

Worth the watch if: You are a fan of POV films, enjoy super power/heroes or want to watch something with a difference.

Trailer

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