Chronicle the Life of a Supervillain: A Movie Review

*full disclosure: a DVD screener of this film was provided by 20th Century Fox.

Director: Josh Trank.

Writers: Max Landis and Max Landis.

Cast: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, an Ashley Hinshaw.

Chronicle did relatively well in theatres with a smallish budget. Some of that success comes from Max Landis' script. Son of John Landis, Max paints a believable picture of three high school seniors and their trials and tribulations. However, a crystaline object grants them powers beyond their dreams. More changes occur as the film begins as a coming of age story that transitions into a superhero feature worth seeing.

Steve (Michael B. Jordan) is the popular kid with a wandering eye for the ladies. His greatest difficulty involves avoiding a beligerent girlfriend. Matthew (Alex Russell) is a fun loving guy with a crush on a local blogger. His approach to dating is a little awkward. Andrew (Dane DeHaan) is the most troublesome character. He has to deal with an abusive father and a dying mother. Being a virgin in high school also keeps him on the bottom of the social ladder. These problems move from forefront to distraction when all three characters discover a strange object buried in a gravel pit.

This object grants them abilities to fly, move objects, avoid harm and know if their friends are in danger. These new powers must also be controlled. So, Matthew comes up with some rules: do not use these abilities to harm others, do not use them when angry and do not use them in public. Matthew follows these rules, but Andrew breaks all three by the end of the film.

Thus, the crux of the film involves when and how to use these impossible abilities. Andrew's poor self-control means that he will use them whenever necessary. He robs hoodlums when his mother needs money for medication, he brutalizes bullies and he murders wantonly in the finale. He slowly begins to emerge as the film's villain. His scarring from a hospital fire makes his appearance sinister, which further cements his role as the anti-hero, superficially at least. Matthew, Andrew's cousin, is tasked with reigning this ne'er-do-well in. This is not an easy task when Andrew's powers prove to be the stronger of the two.

Chronicle is at its heart a modern superhero tale. Much like Spiderman, Batman and many others, there is a hero here, superpowers and a supervillain. All of these elements comes together in a rather brillaint final act. The special effects team really went the extra mile to show an epic battle. And all of the superpowers create for some high flying camera angles near the top of Seattle's Space Needle.

Josh Trank's first feature film is a lot of fun. The morality involving the use of godlike powers creates some believable problems. Subplots abound and the use of special effects makes for a unique film watching experience. This film is definitely recommended for the sci-fi crowd with younger viewers likely able to identify with these three high-schoolers. See this one now as Chronicle has just released on home video formats as of May 15th. And then let yourself imagine what you would do with these extraordinary powers.

Overall: 7.5 out of 10 (believable characters, interesting subplots, one noticeable character arc).

The DVD special features include:

-Pre-Viz
-Camera Test
-Theatrical Trailer
-Soundtrack Info
-Coming Attractions

The film's fan page is here:

Chronicle on Facebook

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Posted in: max landis,movie review,sci-fi,science fiction,science fiction movie review,superheroes,villain