Chronicle: The human behind the super power

Although many people would love to have superpowers and would dream about it plenty of times, it is very difficult to predict exactly how most of us would behave if our wishes came true and we did attain some superhuman abilities. The answer of whether we would use them for the right reasons and help other people, as is shown with most popular superheroes, or if we would use it for our own selfish gain and eventually end up misusing those powers can only be answered if we are actually placed in such a hypothetical situation. But that seems to be what the 2012 action movie Chronicle has touched upon.

Andrew is a teenager with a creative mind and asocial tendencies. He is terribly introverted as he goes through his high school life with a camera by his side and no friends but his cousin to hang out with occasionally. His cousin Matt tries to convince him to get along with more people by taking him to a party at a barn and introducing him around. Eventually, Andrew, Matt and Matt’s friend Steve wind up in the middle of a field where they discover a hole leading to an underground cave. Andrew reluctantly agrees to follow Matt and Steve into the cave where they discover a glowing stone embedded into the ground. After an unfortunate mishap, the three friends narrowly manage to survive but later discover that they have received telekinetic powers. They agree to keep it a secret and use their powers sparingly but Andrews’s fragile self esteem and longing to make something of himself lead to rifts in their friendship and more problems than they can handle with their powers alone.

The feature film directorial debut of Josh Trank, Chronicle follows the unique style of a handheld camera that is a part of the storyline. By establishing that the protagonist carries around a camera at all times, the film was then told through the eyes of the camera that plays a part in the film. Although utilised previously in a few other films, this style still manages to strike a chord with its audience for being a more creative style of filmmaking.

Although the character of the introverted Andrew is the protagonist in the film, he is in fact an anti-hero. The film follows most of his perspective which makes him the protagonist, however the actions he takes leads to horrible outcomes for everyone around him which throws him into the negative light.

The film does employ a bit of a creative style, but it’s nothing extraordinary that hasn’t been seen before. The film tries to portray the human side of exceptional beings but ends up succumbing to the grotesque use of visual effects and action packed scenes which can be seen in any superhero movie. While certain scenes of the film do have a visual appeal, like when one of the characters splits a spider into pieces by pulling each of its legs apart at the same time or by crushing a car into a ball just by making a fist, it’s disappointing that the potential for a good script would be sacrificed just for a more appealing visual production. Maybe that is what Hollywood has come down to, but it’s quite disappointing.

In the end, it is a cool-looking movie, but that shouldn’t be the only reason to watch a film. It could have been something special but as it is, it is just another Hollywood action flick.