There have been so many films that are based around the recording of events on a hand-held video camera, with most of them lately being paranormal type movies, so after seeing the trailers for Chronicle it looked like this could be something a little different. But is it? Or is it another one of those home-made movie looking films?
Chronicle – Blazing Minds Movie Review
So last night I braved the cold weather and ventured out to @ApolloCinemas Rhyl to see Chronicle  film which has had a lot of social networking promotion and hype via Twitter and Facebook, the story of three college kids who stumble upon a strange object underground that gives them powers beyond their wildest dreams, but soon, not everything goes as well as they would expect.
Has Chronicle Lived Up To The Hype?
For me I would have to say yes, I’ve seen Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity, two films that are in a similar style of filmmaking and I have to say that Chronicle is far better, 26-year-old director Josh Trank, who has been hailed as the youngest ever director of a chart-topping movie, has done a superb job and you do really start to believe that isn’t a film, it’s a home movie recording the events of the three college students.
The slow start of the film does put you off a bit and you do start thinking “Is this actually going to be any good!”, but as the film progresses and the boys develop their superpowers and learn from mistakes they make and what they are capable of doing, the story just pulls you in. The idea that shy teenager Andrew (Dane DeHaan) is recording everything from the beginning when his drunken father tries to get in his room is the start of the recording process, hence the title “Chronicle”.
The use of the camera develops as the film moves along with it no longer being a hand-held but a free-floating camera able to film from any position, all down to Andrews superpowers.
Through the movie things do go sour and the final battle sequence, which reminded me of a video game, Akira and Superman up against General Zod is amazingly done, the use of CCTV, police cameras etc are so well done, it’s hard to think that Chronicle was made with only $15 Million, but it’s enjoyable and probably one of the best movies I’ve seen in this style for a long time.
Overall Thoughts For Chronicle
Though the film is slow to start and at times you do wonder if it’s going anywhere, it’s a well-made film, which builds and builds as it goes up to the final all-out sequence for the superpower face off, if you enjoyed Cloverfield or similar films then this is certainly the one for you, if you haven’t then give this a shot as it’s much, much better.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
