Meet Andrew (Dane Dehaan). He's kind of a nerd wearing a "Pick on me, please" sign which even the illiterate bullies are able to pick up on. His most immediate trouble seems to be caused by the fact that he's carrying a bulky camera around to document his sadly pathetic life, but I suspect he wasn't exactly the class cool-guy prior to that decision. Plus, Andrew has all kinds of issues at home, ranging from a sick mom to an abusive dad. Next we have Matt (Alex Russell). Matt fashions himself as an intellectual, but falls a few Dewey Decimals to the south of cerebral. Actually, he's Andrew's cousin, and is trying to help his cuz garner a few cool points around the hallowed halls of their Seattle high school. Finally, there's Steve (Michael Jordan). Now, this kid seems to have it all going for him--after all, he's played by Michael Jordan, right? Well, it's a different MJ, but Steve is soon to be class president, who has his way with the ladies and is an all-around popular guy. The three are brought together at a barn party, where they discover something inexplicable. We have no idea what it is, but it's other-worldly for certain and leaves a lasting effect on the three fellas. Actually, they find themselves with the ability to move objects with their minds; the uncanny knack for flying; and the inscrutable power to fart in a shoebox--okay, I made that last one up, but these guys suddenly are given a new, exciting and powerful gift.
It doesn't take long for their new found abilities to create some problems, both within their own tight triad and in their other relationships as well. This sore spot is most prominently spotted in Andrew. The picked-on now has the ability to be the picker. Yadayadayada...the three guys are forced to confront their darker sides and each other in dealing with their new found gift/curse.
It's good...very good, in my humble opinion. I'll go with 4.0 Stars here. When you've seen a parade of re-makes and sequels emerge from H-Wood (I mean, come on...does anyone really think we need a Three Stooges movie!??!) of late, a unique tale is a welcome sight. Evidently so, as this one was greeted with thundering applause as the credits rolled in a packed theatre last night--a tribute to it's uniqueness and 4.0 Star score.
There is a strong human component to this story, which really makes it work. The crux of the story has nothing to do with the other-worldly way in which these guys got their powers. Actually, it's never mentioned again and no one really seems to care at all. Remember, these are high schoolers, so all that really matters is what is right in front of them. That's where the story plays out. We see their lighter side and we experience their darker side, which was as inevitable as the pop of a little balloon being filled with way too much water. In both cases, you get a sloppy mess.
You've got some relatively fresh faces here and they each did a sound job of pulling off a good story. Actually, my only complaint is the ole 'hand-held camera point-of-view'. Enough already! I'm over it! If you're going to take that tact...fine...but will someone--and this would've certainly worked here--decide to use a mini-spy cam as part of the story and plug it into their hat or something. I mean, come on...it's just too freakin' unrealistic to expect all of these events to be caught on a hand held cam. Or, they could at least use a cell instead of a bulky camcorder. Sure, the cam hand is steadier now, so I don't need a Dramamine to get through the flick, but there is nothing wrong with the standard approach to filming a movie. Get back to it, please!
At any rate, go see this one and see it BIG! It's unique and well-put together. Yeah...okay, I admit that it caught me by overflow as we were set to see The Woman in Black, which was unfortunately sold out. However, Chronicle was more than worth a watch. It was 80 minutes of gooood stuff.
True...OUT!
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