Spoiler-infused review of the movie "Chronicle"

Spoilers ahead, just to let you all know...

Because blowing shit up with your mind is awesome.

So the other day I found myself watching a movie which I had really heard next to nothing about. What I do remember about the movie before actually watching it is that the characters in the movie could move objects with their minds and... that was about it. I did hear good things about it so I decided to sit down and watch it and was left pleasantly surprised. The title of the movie "Chronicle" relates to how the movie is shown, in a series of captured videos from the main character's camera and other random recording devices strewn about where they were. They use these devices to "chronicle" the beginnings of their powers and how they develop and train them over time. What makes it different from other "Blair Witch Project"-like movies is how the characters manipulate the cameras to float around, catching many different angles which makes for a very interesting take on the whole "found footage" style of story telling. The cameras also play another role in the movie as a way for the main character "Andrew" to put something between him and the world since he feels already like an outcast. The cameras are used throughout the story and I believe there is only one shot where they were not used.

From the left: Matt (Alex Russell), Steve (Michael B. Jordan), Andrew (Dane DeHaan)

The movie starts out when "Andrew", a socially awkward teenager who's life is kinda the worst, gets a camera and starts filming whatever he sees just for the hell of it. In the first scene we see Andrew setting up his camera for the first time and playing around with it when his father comes bashing on the door, most likely drunk, yelling at him for whatever reason. The relationship between Andrew and his father is developed as the story progresses but right now all you need to know is that is dad is really abusive. We also see his mother, lying in bed sick from what I gathered was cancer and was really close to death. Andrew loves his mother and hates the fact that she is so weak and how he has to put up with the drinking habits of his father.

Andrew says good bye to his mother and leaves the house and jumps into his friend/cousin's car. The cousin's name is Matt and they have an okay relationship, not the best of buds but at least they don't hate each other. I do believe that Matt was Andrew's only friend at the beginning of the movie and Matt really wanted to help Andrew which he does try to throughout the movie. They go to school and while here we see how Andrew is treated daily, with bullies torturing him and people avoiding him, he just is miserable. We also see the other main character Steve in a flyer for his election to student council president. We also see that Steve is freaking popular in school and most everyone loves him.

Anyways, we fast forward to a rave Matt invites Andrew to. We see Andrew be really awkward most of the time while there, ending with a random guy splashing a drink on him and his camera, possibly even punching him(?). We then see Steve running up to the camera as Andrew dries it off while sobbing a bit and we see the first interaction between Andrew and Steve. Andrew doesn't believe Steve when he says that he should follow him because he and Matt found something awesome. After a little more persuasion, Andrew follows Steve to where Matt is and sees a big hole in the ground leading to an underground passage of some sort with a strange sounds emitting it. Feeling adventurous, Steve and Matt want to go down into it and peer pressure Andrew to follow as well because they needed the light. They travel through the tunnel a bit till they find what looks like a meteorite which is glowing blue and making a really weird noise. They walk up to it, having no idea what it is and think it's the coolest thing ever.

I should also mention that Steve and Matt were kinda... really high at this time so they were just enjoying the adventure.

"Mmmm, I love me some Pringles!!!"

After almost touching the meteor, it begins to emit louder and louder noises and then turns red. Last shot before the video cuts out is of Steve getting a nose bleed and then all of them running and yelling till the video dies. The next scene apparently happens after Andrew gets a new camera since his old one got caught in the cave-in as they were running out. This is where we see them using their newly found telekinetic powers by throwing baseballs at each other and making them stop in mid-air. Wondering how they got their powers, they went back to the hole in the ground to find that it had collapsed in. The next few scenes have them testing and playing around with their powers like by building a lego tower and eating Prinlges with no hands (look ma'! No hands!). Then after Andrew pushes a car off road by accident, the three friends decide to set some rules on the use of their powers since they were getting stronger. Then in a very awesome scene, the three friends discover that they can use their abilities to fly and have an amazing time with it. After this we see them in a library eating some food and talking about where they should go with their new found flight. Andrew suggests Tibet because of how peaceful it sounds, which Matt agrees would be a good idea.

Hell yes flying!!!

As the three friends get closer, both Matt and Steve want to help get Andrew out of his shell and Steve asks him to join the talent show and use their abilities to make it look like they are doing magic. The crowd goes wild and suddenly Andrew is much more popular than he was before. He even gets a girl up into a room to do the horizontal mambo (if ya know what I mean?), but kinda throws up on her. Humiliated, Andrew becomes increasingly withdrawn and hostile which makes his friends worry about him. Then after being almost beaten by his father again, and using his powers to show who is stronger, Andrew is shown crying in a thunder storm on top of a building. Steve, who is concerned about him, tries to talk to him but is only met with hostility, and then the scene ends with a lightning flash and the video cutting out.

The next scene shows a funeral (which is then revealed to be Steve's who apparently died in that storm) and Matt getting angry at Andrew because he knew he had something to do with Steve's death. Andrew denies this, but is then seen later lamenting over the fact that he was to blame for Steve's death. At school Andrew is once-again made unpopular with the death of his friend and the now public knowledge of what happened with that one girl from the party.

Andrew begins to abuse his powers by killing a spider with them and ripping out a bullies teeth. He also becomes increasingly concerned with his mother's condition and the lack of money to pay for her medication so he turns to crime. His first hit was on the neighborhood thugs and kicks their asses and takes their money. Seeing as it wasn't enough, he then goes and robs a gas station and almost escapes, but when the owner runs out with a shotgun he sets off the whole station in a massive explosion when he knocks away the gun. He is next seen in a hospital bed under police guard for the impending investigation into what had happened. His father appears and sits at his bedside and tells the supposedly unconscious Andrew that his mother had passed away and that it was all his fault. His father then grabs Andrew and just before he hits him, he wakes up and causes an explosion.

Andrew crushing a car... WITH HIS MIND!!!

We then see Matt at a birthday party with his new(?) girlfriend and sees the explosion on TV and gets a massive nose bleed. From this, Matt knows that something terrible has happened to Andrew and takes his girlfriend's car to the scene. He gets there just as Andrew appears out of the smoke and drops his father, hoping to kill him. Matt uses his powers to catch him and bring him down which then leads to a whole series of scenes showing Andrew and Matt's fight as Matt tries to calm Andrew down. Eventually after realizing he had failed he uses a spear and throws it through Andrew, killing him instantly. Just before the police can grab him too, he flies away and escapes.

"Sup bro, I heard you like taking BUSES TO THE FACE!!!"

The last scene is of Matt flying over various landscapes, eventually stopping at a snow covered mountain peak. Matt steps out in front of the camera and begins to speak as if talking to Andrew, telling him how sorry he was, but it was the only thing he could have done at that point. He then says that he (Andrew) finally made it to Tibet (meaning that's where he was filming this part) and that he was going to find out where his powers came from and use them for good. Matt then flies off leaving the camera trained on the peaceful and calm scenery of Tibet.

"Chronicle" is a movie which not only brings together the awesome makings of a scifi/superhero flick, but also touches on some of the various social issues many teenagers have to deal with these days. It also shows how much fun it would be to get powers like telekinesis and use it randomly throughout our daily lives. Finally, it shows the whole "with great power comes great responsibility" moral thing which we all must know very well by now. All together it was a fun movie which I highly suggest anyone who wants something to watch and enjoy the hell out of.Oh, and also if you wonder what it would be like if when you were a teenager you got powers like the ones in the movie.

Oh the things I would do with those powers....

All pictures stolen from Google.