There is no genre that found footage doesn’t work for, is there? What started as a new and creative way to tell a horror story with “The Blair Witch Project” over 10 years ago has gone on to become a bloated version of itself. And now you can add superheroes to the list of film styles you’ve seen through the lens of a hand-held camera.
I’m sure with that opening, it sounds like I’m not a fan of this movie at all or that I hold some kind of weird resentment toward the found footage approach to filmmaking.
Wrong on both counts. “Chronicle” stands as the first film I’ve seen this year that has me eagerly anticipating its home release. I also consider it to be my best theatrical experience since “Drive.”
If you haven’t seen the trailers, the film focuses on three friends who make a discovery that brings them superpowers. What starts out fairly innocently quickly escalates until you find yourself picking your jaw up off the floor during the movie’s visually stunning finale.
The film touches on some very heavy thematic elements at times. And without the solid casting of the three young leads, including a breakout performance by Dane DeHaan, it would have very quickly devolved into a flat, emotionless film.
One of my favorite things about “Chronicle” is how unencumbered its storytelling is. This isn’t any story you’ve read in a comic book before, and that’s something I’ve long been clamoring for.
A lot of my friends have been saying that they are wary about seeing the film because they feel there won’t be any payoff, which often happens in the found footage genre. I also understand this trepidation since the trailer only shows little stunts with no spectacle and only hints at the possibility of something else.
Make no mistake about it: By the time the credits are rolling, you will have witnessed spectacle and awesomeness on a level I expect to be talked about come December, when we’re talking about movies of the year.
This summer, we’ll be seeing the release of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Avengers” and, of course, “The Dark Knight Rises.” These films are guaranteed to be superhero blockbusters that will undoubtedly rake in millions, and in some cases billions, on their name alone.
I dare say that “Chronicle” has the ability to end up besting all of them in overall quality.
Go ahead and cry foul. Burn me at the stake for saying a low-budget, no-face movie could dare to be better than anything Christopher Nolan puts out.
All I’m saying is that when the dust settles later this year, and we’ve had our share of masks and costumes, think back and remember what you saw in the early goings of the year. This is one that’s going to be hanging around in people’s minds for a long time to come.
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