Teen Andrew (Dane DeHann) lives with his abusive father and terminally sick mother. "I'm filming everything here on out," as a way to protect himself, he says. And so begins the chronicling of his whole life.
One day, Andrew, his cousin Matt (Alex Russell) and friend Steve (Michael B Jordan) discover an Area-51-type cave and, days later, develop superpowers. Soon there's a power struggle, and Andrew's pent-up frustration takes hold.
"Realistic" sci-fi is taken to new heights, with the bonus of dude-with-superpowers pranking the unsuspecting. After a while, though, the novelty wears thin. You're left with a film that fails to rise above the incredible effects. Also, Act IV is incredibly silly; the final conflict ends too abruptly.
Chronicle is too caught up in the spectacle of found-footage to go beyond the restraints of the genre. No doubt, shooting an entire film with a hand-held is restrictive. It's tricky - conform 100 per cent to the tradition, or diverge a little for the sake of clarity or a better shot. Chronicle chooses the former, so often fails to create an interesting shot. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with a traditional narrative.
YP Rating: 2/5