The main character, Andrew, played by Dane DeHaan, is raised in an abusive household. His mother is bed-ridden with some disease that is never revealed to the audience and his father, a disabled fireman and drunk, beats on Andrew and blames him for the family’s short comings. Naturally, Andrew has become an introvert. Andrew purchases a large old video camera because he decides that his life is worth documenting, maybe because he is trying to stop his father from beating him or maybe to video his mothers last living moments.
Andrew and the camera become inseparable, it is also the sole recording device for the movie. He brings the camera to school and we see that he is a kid that gets picked on constantly. His cousin, Matt, played by Alex Russell, is Andrew’s only friend – and that isn’t saying much seeing as Matt seems to steer clear of his odd cousin, Andrew.
Matt brings his cousin and the camera to a party at an old barn. It isn't long before someone has picked on Andrew and his large video camera and we find ourselves looking at the grass on the ground and hear the party thumping in the background. One of the most popular guys in the school makes his way out to were Andrew sits on the ground crying. Steve, played by Michael B. Jordan, asks for Andrew to follow him through the woods to a secluded field behind the barn. Matt is there waiting and the three boys go down in the hole to find a large rock-like thing that glows and makes a loud screeching noise. The next time we see the boys, they have telekinesis and Andrew has a brand new camera which sticks with him till the very end.
Andrew's camera records the boys becoming closer friends as they get stronger and stronger, but Andrew is obviously the strongest of the three. They do amazing things and even learn to fly using their powers. Andrew's life becomes all together better - he has friends and he's popular, but his mom is still dying and his dad is still beating him. All hell breaks loose when Andrew's father finds his video camera. His father screams at him that he is useless and wasting money on the camera when his mom needs medication that they can't afford. Andrew takes the yelling until his father starts beating him - then Andrew loses it completely.
To try and help his mother, he puts on his father's old fireman gear and goes out to the city. He starts using his powers menacingly. After a robbery gone wrong at a gas station (the gas pumps blow up) he lands himself in a hospital bed. His father comes to visit him, even though he is seemingly unconscious, the father proceeds to tell him that his mother is dead and that it is all Andrew's fault. When the father goes to hit Andrew, Andrew grabs his arm and blows out the walls and window of the room. This is when Andrew goes completely insane and goes about Seattle throwing cars around and blowing up windows. In the end, Matt is the person to stop him. Him and his cousin had become best friends, but the only way to stop Andrew, was to kill Andrew... and that's exactly what he did.
Overall, the move was OK. It started out very slow, but got very good towards the end when all of the action started happening and the trios powers grew stronger. A part of me hurt to watch the character of Andrew and his life, there are tons of young people who are treated that way at both home and at school. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is in to supernatural stuff, but there is really no other need to see the film. I do NOT recommend it to people who easily get motion sickness, the "home-movie" sort of filming might upset your stomach!
Chronicle was directed by Josh Trank and written by Max Landis and is rated PG-13 and runs for 84 minutes. Don't worry, you don't have to stay through the credits. There's nothing but a blue screen at the very end, no surprise clips!
Matt brings his cousin and the camera to a party at an old barn. It isn't long before someone has picked on Andrew and his large video camera and we find ourselves looking at the grass on the ground and hear the party thumping in the background. One of the most popular guys in the school makes his way out to were Andrew sits on the ground crying. Steve, played by Michael B. Jordan, asks for Andrew to follow him through the woods to a secluded field behind the barn. Matt is there waiting and the three boys go down in the hole to find a large rock-like thing that glows and makes a loud screeching noise. The next time we see the boys, they have telekinesis and Andrew has a brand new camera which sticks with him till the very end.
Andrew's camera records the boys becoming closer friends as they get stronger and stronger, but Andrew is obviously the strongest of the three. They do amazing things and even learn to fly using their powers. Andrew's life becomes all together better - he has friends and he's popular, but his mom is still dying and his dad is still beating him. All hell breaks loose when Andrew's father finds his video camera. His father screams at him that he is useless and wasting money on the camera when his mom needs medication that they can't afford. Andrew takes the yelling until his father starts beating him - then Andrew loses it completely.
To try and help his mother, he puts on his father's old fireman gear and goes out to the city. He starts using his powers menacingly. After a robbery gone wrong at a gas station (the gas pumps blow up) he lands himself in a hospital bed. His father comes to visit him, even though he is seemingly unconscious, the father proceeds to tell him that his mother is dead and that it is all Andrew's fault. When the father goes to hit Andrew, Andrew grabs his arm and blows out the walls and window of the room. This is when Andrew goes completely insane and goes about Seattle throwing cars around and blowing up windows. In the end, Matt is the person to stop him. Him and his cousin had become best friends, but the only way to stop Andrew, was to kill Andrew... and that's exactly what he did.
Overall, the move was OK. It started out very slow, but got very good towards the end when all of the action started happening and the trios powers grew stronger. A part of me hurt to watch the character of Andrew and his life, there are tons of young people who are treated that way at both home and at school. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is in to supernatural stuff, but there is really no other need to see the film. I do NOT recommend it to people who easily get motion sickness, the "home-movie" sort of filming might upset your stomach!
Chronicle was directed by Josh Trank and written by Max Landis and is rated PG-13 and runs for 84 minutes. Don't worry, you don't have to stay through the credits. There's nothing but a blue screen at the very end, no surprise clips!
Three boys just having some fun with their mind powers. (Pictured left to right - Andrew, Steve and Matt).
Is Steve the "One of the most popular guys…"? I find it odd that he went to get Andrew to check out a hole when it seems like nobody want's anything to do with him.
ReplyDeleteThe movie sounds pretty interesting. I was a bit confused at the beginning with some of the description, you introduce a lot of information there. I did really like that you said there was no cut scene at the end. I was wait for those in Scifi style stories, and I am really disappointed when I wait for nothing.
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