Chronicle

With his mother dying of cancer, and his alcoholic father unable to cope, Andrew (DeHann) decides to begin videotaping his life. However, when invited to a rave by his cousin Matt (Russell), the filming quickly gets him into trouble, and Andrew finds himself forced to leave. Once out, he is persuaded by Matt and the school quarterback, Steve (Jordan), to film a mysterious object the pair have found, but the attempt is cut short when the camera blacks out as the object does something to the boys. Weeks later, the boys discover they have gained mysterious powers as a result; but with this power, comes trouble. Andrew’s life begins to progressively worsen, and with the troubled boy now able to tear apart buildings with his mind, is it a case of if he’ll finally snap, or when?

Chronicle, like many films before it, has taken up the found footage genre to great effect. Thought it starts off with the camera begins carried everywhere, once the boys develop their powers, they are soon able to carry it with their minds, resulting in shots and scenes that are impossible in other similar films, helping, along with some really good effects work, to make Chronicle something special in an increasingly cluttered genre.

The acting is also top notch. Both DeHann and Russell give great performances as the troubled, dangerous Andrew and his worried cousin, Matt. Both are relative newcomers to the big screen, and are clearly ones to watch out for. Michael B. Jordan as Steve also holds his own amongst the cast, and the supporting cast are all pretty good, but never outshine the boys, letting them be the full centre of attention.

In short, Chronicle is effectively a found footage superhero movie if the heroes weren’t necessarily so super, and that’s what makes it absolutely brilliant.