Chronicle Review

This is one of those movies that I find hard to review. It is a film that I went into having extremely high hopes for and really wanting to see certain aspects. While they may have hit many of the right notes, overall there are some big issues that overpower what is good in this film. It makes this a movie with good principles, just poor execution.

Let’s start with the bad so I can finish up this review on a positive note, because we all love happy endings. Which is one small qualm I have with this film. There was this big climatic scene, very iconic and yet I felt unfulfilled by the ending. Maybe I was hoping for a little darker ending, something with a bit more mystery.

My largest issue with this film is also the most obvious one. Three words: FOUND FOOTAGE FILM. The 3F’s must be undertaken with extreme caution. Please, never use the 3F’s unless you know what you are capable of and know that it will work. I understand that the director was trying to make it so the audience felt more connected with the main characters by being right in the action but it failed. It was a horrible attempt. When you have to create scenes, and introduce characters, just to explain some of the shots that were achieved, STOP!! That should be your first alert. This film would have been phenomenal if they had just filmed it from a normal 3rd person viewpoint. Sadly, they had to ruin any credibility this film fought so valiantly for by trying to run with a trend.

In stark contrast to my hate for the 3F’s, is my love for everything else this film did. The story was different and interesting. The effects were overall great. Some of their early effects were a bit off, but funny as it may sound, as the movie progressed and their powers grew, the effects improved eventually peaking during the flight scenes. Their portrayal of high school life was fairly realistic even if it did seem to highlight the bad parts. Best of all was the acting of the three boys and how they were extremely different people, but were able to bond over a common interest and transcend whatever barriers they had erected. I think more emotional weight would have been added to this film if it had spanned a longer period of time and their bonds had become closer.

Even though the movie ran a little shorter than I would have liked, and they didn’t take full advantage of their idea, it was a fairly solid film. Unfortunately this movie is overshadowed by the usage of found footage but I hope people look past this mistake and give it the credit it deserves.