Chronicle (2012)

Power is its own greatest enemy alone and can be further proven catastrophic when compromised youths exploit it!

20^th Century Fox in association with Dune Entertainment and Davis Entertainment present…

Directed by Josh Trank (The Kill Point) and co-written by Max Landis (Fear Itself) who also arranged the well paced Screenplay. The two very talented young men who did not have enough experience finally broke the barriers and became today’s bankable and most sought out film makers in their respective fields.

Josh started work as an Editor and Director for a television series before getting the major gig of a lifetime. At the age of 27, he was the youngest to achieve one of the highest grossing US box office openings! While Max, who has been mentored by his Father, John Landis had his hands full since selling his first script when he was only 18 years old. Their baby project boomed its way to the movie going public and gaining momentum since it’s already the dawn of comic books being translated into the big screen!

Their story focuses on three teenage boys who founded a hole that hid an alien like crystal that emitted radiation little do they know that it will change their lives forever! Dane De Haan (Lawless) is Andrew the cousin of Matt portrayed by Alex (Almost Kings) and lastly, Michael B. Jordan (Blackout) who steps up the plate as Steve.

Their all in their senior year of high school, trying to survive daily routines in which for others may seem typical, something you just have to go through in order for you to graduate! But these three had very different backgrounds that make things more interesting and diverse given that each one of them had lives that will shape their fate and confirm their destiny!

Andrew Detmer loves to film and document things, he’s quite, thin and an introvert. His mother is dying of cancer while his father was a fireman who got into drinking when he stopped working after an accident. The boy was constantly bullied and publicly humiliated, criticized for his weak demeanor making him more secluded that is why his cousin wants him to have fun and to meet people so he can socialize but that’s just the tip of the iceberg…

While Alex Russell gave an impression in the first part of the film to be a nuisance (well, that was the idea) just trying to live his own life but in fact, in the long run you can see how he transpires his attitude towards his family and most especially with Andrew who looks after him like a brother. His reasons are just but as adolescents, he still has issues to settle before everything is too late…

Finally, Steve Montgomery the last piece of the puzzle is a multi-awarded student, famous and oozing with charisma and wealth! This guy has everything but he still can mix with the masses and does have friends that he can call his own. But all things have their limit even for a rich kid and this is where he needs to put the boundaries…

So which one of them can harness the full extent of responsibilities? Will soon find out! The primary cast had their own way of telling the story and all will change when things got way out of hand. They say when push comes to shove, you can only go too far before someone gets hurt! Josh and Max made this film to place a huge question mark about how powers should be used and up to what extent! We are not even talking about the court of law, military might, jurisdiction of property or air space, we are defining the actual and literal force that can move everything and everyone with a single thought.

I once heard this from a previous employer that people has only two instinctive reactions when they are being gripped by someone its either they stay in line and be passive or break free and retaliate! A person can only take so much before they burst out and once that happens you better be ready for the consequences. The boys, pulled pranks in the community although being careful not to overuse their newly found gifts (or curse) and its just basically how they have reacted with it, they horse around until it gets the better of them!

It was an interesting story, seeing that given the dialogue set-up to be personal with the help of hand held cameras which makes it more engaging as it gives further emphasis on their decision making process of each individual. The self-evaluation comes into play specifically with Andrew that I can even see with how Max Landis informs and communicates to the public his varied opinions it was like breaking the fourth wall when in fact they he was just documenting his emotions considering that he sees himself as an “apex predator” which resulted from being lambasted by bullies and by his father!

In another aspect, the VFX was mediocre but only because of a measly budget of 12 million from wiring and background CGI and green screen used in which South Africa’s very own Simon Hansen’s and his company Atomic Visual Effects can do so much! The good news is with successful financial returns and being widely accepted by critics, Chronicle has made a clear impression that even with a market niche presentation tailgating the likes of major superhero movies it comes out of its own with way better output and as expected a cult following!

With great results, the actors have pulled off more projects coming their way especially with Dane who has been phenomenal with his career as of late giving the troubled youth persona a fresh new look, his next film will be “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in which he will play Peter’s best friend Harry Osborn. While Michael has voiced another superhero named Cyborg in DC Comics and from Marvel Comics, he just recently played the clusterfucked “Fantastic Four” reboot. Alex on the other hand has his 2013 busy for the upcoming “Carrie” remake and the recently concluded “The Host”.

I really hope that they can still push through with the sequel with a climactic battle that resulted much “collateral damage” being given emphasis by Professor James Moriarty the yang of Sherlock Holmes yin! I also liked how they referenced the premise with “Akira” given that two best of friends growing up like brothers needs to assert where they stand in order just to prove a point! As they can further understand what happened to the juveniles who caused much death and destruction to the city of Seattle! The missing link pertaining to the alien crystal and who buried it and where does the lone survivor of the three go from here? And for the mother of all questions, who else would have this power?