Movies

As cool and detailed as a graphic novel but as spectacular and kinetic as a blockbuster, Chronicle will win over geeks and the popcorn-eating masses alike.

Loner Andrew (Dane DeHaan), his cousin Matt (Alex Russell) and popular kid Steve (Michael B. Jordan) discover an alien, orb-like formation at the bottom of a hole and suddenly find themselves capable of telekinesis, great strength and flying. Unfazed by the weirdness of their situation, they use it for after-school hijinks like building Lego without their hands (obviously the first thing on everyone's Superpowers To-Do list) and pranking strangers by moving their cars.

With a camera glued to his face, Andrew records all their experiences. While the trio enjoy a newfound brotherhood, the destructive powers of their abilities quickly become apparent and their good intentions rapidly unravel.

Surprisingly, this supernatural thriller is a clever and emotional film, as much about the isolation of teenagehood and the pain of loneliness as it is about explosions and special effects.

Despite a brief flirtation with popularity as a result of his powers, Andrew discovers the rules of school stay the same: the nerds stay the nerds, the popular kids stay the popular kids. His pain is visceral and DeHaan is effortless in his portrayal of the suffering teenager.

Although the entire movie is filmed in a found-footage style, it thankfully avoids the nauseating Blair Witch Project effect. The action is big but grounded; nothing feels too CGI or ridiculous, and everything builds to a mind-blowing climax.

There are some problems though: to stick to the found-footage format, other characters conveniently film each other, jarring the believability. The teenagers also too easily take everything in their stride, never questioning the source of their powers or worrying about the gushing nosebleeds they experience.

Nonetheless, these problems have little bearing on a film that finally puts an end to the run of bad superhero movies on screen of late.