Saturday, February 4, 2012

Review: Chronicle

I haven't written a movie review in a while. I've reviewed a bunch of games lately, but no films. I guess I was waiting for a movie that stirred me, something that got me going, got me excited or inspired me. Chronicle is that movie.

Max Landis, the screenwriter, is the son of John Landis, the murderer. John Landis is the reason we no longer have Vic Morrow, by way of The Twilight Zone film produced by Spielberg and Zemeckis back in the 80's. Well, Max is out to do his own thing in Hollywood, and if Chronicle is any indication of what's to come, I, for one, am very excited.

Chronicle tells the story of Andrew, a high school outcast in his home town with few friends (his cousin is the closest thing), who, while at a barn rave one night, is summoned by his cousin and his cousin's friend, Steven (both seniors in high school themselves) out to a remote area in the woods near the rave.

While out in those woods, they stumble upon a hole, that upon venturing into, turns out to house what I'm guessing is some sort of alien rock or craft that bestows upon the three young men the incredible powers of telekinesis as well as light telepathy. Now, this sort of film would have been so easy to screw up, however; director Josh Trank has a veritable goldmine to work with in the form of Landis' script.

Superheroes and those with super-powered abilities are a mixed bag. Superman is hard to pull off on film. Bryan Singer and Richard Donner's takes are loved by some, hated by others. Christopher Nolan has hit a grand slam with his interpretation of Batman, where Joel Schumacher failed miserably.

The difficult aspect in terms of superheroes is how to get an audience to care. Approaching Superman, for example, is nearly impossible in that he's totally invincible. You can't hurt the man of steel with any conventional weapons or through combat, so Singer opted to go for his heart and utilize Krytonite in the form of an entire continent that he must levitate in order to save the citizens of Metropolis. A Herculean task to say the least.

Batman is a human being, with legitimate faults. He's a deeply scarred psychopath who prowls the night for purse snatchers because his parents were cut down by a thug in the night. Batman's greatest nemesis is psychology in a lot of ways in that Bruce Wayne wants to be a normal dude and enjoy his life, whereas Batman is always who he truly is, yet the two can't coexist. Duality is a common aspect of the modern super hero film.

Such is not the case with Chronicle. There's no talk of "hey, maybe we can save people with our powers" or "we have to use these gifts for good". Nope. Instead, these young men use their powers how young men would use their powers. They blow girls' skirts up. They use their abilities to wow their friends. Andrew fights back against his tormentors at school.

They fly. They make plans to fly across the world, more specifically, to Tibet, to further their abilities with monks in the mountains. A noble goal that may have led to eventual heroics.

Unfortunately, this future does not come to pass. I don't want to spoil anything, but those who've seen the trailer, you can tell that one of the three friends clearly goes off the reservation with his powers. I can't say I disagree with his motivations. This is a person who has been treated like shit his entire life by his drunk father, has a dying mother, and is the ridicule of his classmates.

He's Dylan Klebold with telekinesis.

There's been a lot of talk of a live-action adaptation of Akira, which is regarded as the "Citizen Kane of anime" (which in my opinion may be a little overblown, though I worship creator Katsuhiro Otomo). With Chronicle, I don't need an Akira live-action adaptation. The film's psychically-powered finale is something built up in the trailer, but is so much better on-screen, to discuss it in detail would be a disservice.

Chronicle is, thus far, my favorite film of 2012. In what could be the first year I only go to the movies to see super hero films (Spider-Man, Batman, The Avengers all hit the screen at some point this year), Chronicle is the perfect kickoff for the super hero season, and may prove to be the finest film of the bunch.

I give Chronicle a perfect score - 5 out of 5 rage-filled teens using their powers for no good.