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Chronicle (2012)

Director: Josh Trank

Time Out rating

Average user rating

13 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Here we go again with another ‘found footage’ film supposedly shot by amateurs: this time it’s schoolkids in Seattle with superpowers. There has been wild cheerleading in the blogosphere in advance of this self-confident debut from writer Max Landis (son of John) and director Josh Trank. They’re both 26 and clearly believe they’ve got a game-changer on their hands: they mash up mock-doc stylings with a coming-of-age comedy and a comic-book superhero origins tale.

Behind the camera is a bullied loner, Andrew (Dane DeHaan), who is summoned by his cousin to film a crater in a field. Inside is a whopping shard of crystal that gives all three superpowers. There are some goofy-funny prank scenes as they test out their skills – terrorising a little girl in a toyshop with a floating teddy. But something is up with Andrew, who is pulling legs off spiders (with his mind!), and might be crossing to the dark side.

Does ‘Chronicle’ take found-footage movies to a new level? Don’t believe it. By the end, the trio are flying around like the Harry Potter kids after a night on the sherry. Which makes the idea that we’re watching events from the point of view of one camera laughable (even if they can levitate it). It’s a weak link in a strong calling card for the talents of Trank and Landis. Can we call time on found footage? If anyone out there stumbles on a camcorder with video of what looks like the scoop of a lifetime… wipe the memory and take it to Cash Converters.

Author: Cath Clarke

Time Out London Issue 2163: Feb 2-8, 2012

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User reviews of this film

Justin Berkovi said...

Posted on May 26 2012 19:59 I can't believe people recommended this to me. A terrible terrible film. Badly executed, tedious and almost laughably bad in places this should be avoided at all costs. What a terrible waste of 90 minutes.

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scrumpyjack said...

Posted on Feb 19 2012 23:36 fast, lean popcorn entertainment, expertly delivered. 7/10

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girl25 said...

Posted on Feb 09 2012 19:18 A bad, bad film!!!! The camera filming made me feel dizzy watching and lost interest after 5 mins!!!! not worth watching. how can a boy end up burnt and in hospital, but can break through glass and building without a scratch!!! a load of cr*p!!!!!!!

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Steve Marks said...

Posted on Feb 09 2012 14:57 I actually quite enjoyed this; it was definitely funny in parts (a lot of people in cinema laughed loudly - not just me). It is a bit far-fetched at parts, but then given that the moveis is about teens with telekensis powers what do you expect? The reviews here seem quite harsh, no-one walked out as far as I could tell at a fairly full London cinema..... Rotten Tomatoes users approve of it with 85%, not a bad rating at all for that site.

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rogerrabbit said...

Posted on Feb 09 2012 12:54 another half ass attempt at movie making with a video camera {blair witch-cloverfield style} which is so bad in first place . dont waste what time u have left on this earth watching this utter ****

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Mike said...

Posted on Feb 06 2012 23:14 There's the hint of a not bad story in there, but it quickly gets lost. Legged it after an hour. One star.

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prince said...

Posted on Feb 05 2012 20:24 if got pay then dont bother, got couple funny pairs in it ,we have limited card so some good some not

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jayneM said...

Posted on Feb 05 2012 18:38 This film was unbearable, absoloute dross, terrible storyline & acting, I left after half an hour!

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merrittpr said...

Posted on Feb 04 2012 08:40 It showed promise at the start and then I found myself wondering if it would just be another victimised loner film angry with the world, thus try to destroy it? Yes is the answer. I liked the fact that the main character can been in intensive care with a few burns when he can crash through concrete, glass and wood with little effect on him whatsoever! As the film ended with a cheesy trip to Tibet I was left wondering was the film really as average as it had become, yes again. If you want a film to pass the time and be mildly entertained then this one foots the bill.

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mcdonald_er said...

Posted on Feb 04 2012 01:10 I really enjoyed this film. Lots of smart lines, the director is having fun with the genre. A nod to Akira of course. And a nod to 80s high school movies. These boys just wanna have fun. Until the spider scene, then it turns darker!

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ARCHGATE said...

Posted on Feb 03 2012 14:07 An excellent stab at the super-powers genre. However, all that James Bradley (above) states in his review is bang on the money. In fact I only lasted an hour and Mr Bradleys notes certainly re-inforced my decision to leave early.

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james bradley said...

Posted on Feb 03 2012 09:08 What a wasted opportunity, this could have been a good film the third was promising but the story disintegrated into trite shite.
The " I am a camera" technique was inconsistent and sometimes the director forgot himself and we found ourselves viewing via traditional camera observer. Nowhere near as good as Attack the Block - shame

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Blaize67 said...

Posted on Feb 02 2012 11:29 Josh Trank in the director's chair on this by Max Landis is a fine effort by these new faces. The 'Found Footage' style is irritating and unnecessary but once you get by that there's plenty of innovation to carry the day. Leads to some interesting and new places...till the last half hour when it looks like some studio hack took over and decided to wrap it all up with a whizz bang! Pity. Still, for a Friday evening movie this is fun, and shows promise from all concerned.

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