Chronicle - a review

Chronicle was released on Feb 1,2012 in the United Kingdom and Feb 3,012 in the States. The film exceeded expectations grossing $20,000,000 in its first weekend off an average budget of $15,000,000. It eventually grossed a global cumulative of $123.1m. The film is written by Fear Itself (horror series) writer Max Landis and directed by Josh Trank.
  Josh Trank, at age 27, is one of the youngest directors to top the Northern American box office. He's followed by Spielberg at 28 for Jaws, and Cameron and 30 for The Terminator. Internationally, Trank is the youngest director to top the UK box office.
  Following the trend of The Last Exorcism (2010) and The Devil Inside (2012), Chronicle was filmed in documentary style. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that the movie's commercial and not to mention critical success makes it worthy of an Academt Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film is a little too mainstreamish. The start is pretty uninteresting and the first half seems as if a teenager was just filming his depression status. A famous critic once stated that it takes 20 minutes to lure an audience. For those who stuck around after that time period, either for their responsibility or simply their nonrefundable cash, it was worth it. The movie actually kicks off after the 20 mins of goofing around.

  The plot is a bit simple for sci-fi action. Three friends gain superpowers including telekinesis. One of them is our main filmmaker in the film who doesn't seem to take the heat. As I said before most of the duration comprises of going through his depression and anxiety. Though the sci-fi aspect is commendable. Even viewers, like my best friend, whom aren't used to documentary features will enjoy this one. For action viewers there is plenty of that in between and a handful in the last moments. That is if you don't get dimwitted by teen drama. Fortunately, there is less of that in comparison, and proper emphasis is laid on the story.
  The pros are abundant. It was very smart filming this one in narrative format. For a average-looking story it added a whole new flavour to the recipe. And although I found the storyline predictable. I still stuck through this one as it was so brilliantly directed (not surprised at Josh Trank's success). The dialogues are not too crafty I'm afraid. The jokes aren't all they're cracked up to be. But the lines from our main character are decent enough. Acting is top notch from an otherwise newer film cast. The trio were equally brilliant in their roles. Main cast includes Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell, Michael Kelly and Ashley Hinshaw.

  To sum up, Chronicle has few plotholes. Its mainly about how people would react after getting super. Genre could be termed as sci-fi psychological drama thriller. It has a USP: its originality of the direction. Trust me this film was way better than last year's Captain America: The First Avenger and X-Men: First Class. For the former it had a more unpredictable story, and for the latter there was a more realistic feeling to teens becoming mutants.  Chronicle is not a must-watch. Nor is it one of the best films of the year. But it is good for a two-time watch chiefly with friends and a huge pack of popcorn.

IMDB: 7.4/10.
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%.
BoxOffice101: 2.5/4.