Rating of
2/4
Not Quite Super, Man
Chris Kavan - wrote on 02/06/12
I appreciate the effort, I really do - the found footage genre has been stuck in the horror rut for awhile now. Paranormal Activity (Good), Apollo 18 (Bad) and going back to The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield - you can put a sci-fi twist or ghostly twist, but it all comes down to horror.
Chronicle takes things in a different direction. When we begin, we're following essentially an outcast teen - his only "friend" appears to be his cousin, who simply seems to put up with him rather than treat him as an actual friend. His dad is an out-of-work fireman-turned alcoholic; his mother is very sick. But instead of grabbing a gun and shooting up his school like a typically bent-out-of-shape teen would, instead he grabs an old camera and just decides to document his daily life. People treat him like dirt, cheerleaders are grossed out by him and his dad is abusive. His cousin, offering him a bit of respite, invites him to a rave/party.
This is where things turn interesting. After being caught filming the wrong woman, he once again finds himself on the outside, crying a bit. That's when his cousin, along with the most popular kid in school, recruit him (and his camera) in filing something crazy that happens to be down a hole. The movie doesn't specify if this is alien, a meteor, some government experiment - but after coming into contact with the glowing crystalline object, each of our three characters develops telekinetic powers. At first they can only manipulate small objects, but soon they learn how to move bigger objects and even fly.
At this point one is reminded of the ultimate super hero quote: "With great power comes great responsibility." These boys are no Peter Parker goodie goodies - they use it for fun, to impress, to get what they want - and it all spirals out of control, especially for our main character, you know, the one who got no respect. He's finally able to stand up against his dad, finally able to impress his fellow classmates, finally able to fight back - but even with all this power, he's still the same outcast - and when he embarrasses himself with a girl at a party, it essentially spells the beginning of his end.
So what went wrong? The concept is sound - ordinary people becoming extraordinary has been done plenty of times before, but I will admit the found-footage aspect makes it feel fresh. There's nothing spectacular about the characters, however. If I'm supposed to feel some sort of empathy or connection with these people, I'm not the right audience. I'm just not young enough to connect with this generation - all I wanted to do is slap some sense into the mopey bastard.
Plus, if you have the ability to fly and lift cars with your mind, why would you rob a dinky gas station? Why not fly to the company where the drug you need is made and get it straight for the source - heck, I'm sure a simple Google search would point you in the right direction or find an armored car and rob all that money instead. If they were trying to show the impulsiveness and stupidity of youth - mission accomplished.
While I like mysteries as well, I was expecting some extrapolation of what caused this phenomena. Other than a scene of local cops closing off the area (which, as the movie explained, could easily have been because of a rogue sinkhole threatening the populace) no one even tries to uncover or even seems to care why they can suddenly move cars and fly. I know youth is accepting to just about anything, but I think I would be a might be curious about what might have happened. There's a line between mystery and just plain not caring. It's entirely possible they mean to continue this series, but if this turns out to be the only one they leave things a bit too ambiguous.
In the end a movie succeeds or fails based on how you can connect with it. In this case, I found myself wanting to yell at the character for doing everything wrong rather than just go along with things and enjoy the ride.
