Ever since the early 2000s, superhero movies have slowly taken over the box office and the minds of the movie-going public. Because the big DC or Marvel franchise films do so well, it can be hard for original superhero movies to get the funding they need. However, a few slip through the cracks and even fewer are worth your time to watch. One of the films that makes the cut is Josh Trank’s 2012 film, Chronicle. The film was released in the early part of 2012 to relatively positive reviews and did well at the box office making about 126 million with a 12 million budget. By all accounts it seems as though this movie does not really qualify under the category of underrated, but I believe it does: While it was well received in 2012, since then it seems to have been swept under the rug and forgotten.
The film depicts three high school students who discover they have telekinetic abilities after interacting with a glowing object they found in a hole in the woods. One of the things that Chronicle excels at is the cardinal rule of film: show, don’t tell. Most original superhero films, and even some of the franchise ones, suffer from needing characters to dump exposition on the audience, explaining the rules of the world or the motives of the villain. Chronicle mostly avoids this by either leaving things a mystery, like the origin of their powers, or by showing you, like the bloody noses that result from overexerting their powers. Part of the way they accomplish this is through the found footage format of the film. It rarely feels like a gimmick throughout the film and it seems impossible to have made this story any other way.
While the premise of Chronicle makes it seem like the film is about the powers they gain, Chronicle is also about the friendship between its characters and their growth and development. Little scenes, especially in the Director’s Cut, build these characters and fully flesh them out so the audience understands them. This is aided by early performances from both Michael B. Jordan and Dane DeHaan, who along with Alex Russell carry the film with the three’s seemingly genuine bond.
While the film may not be the easiest watch when you are trying to relax on a Tuesday afternoon, I’d much rather see Chronicle be up next on FX over, say, Jupiter Ascending. This is where I think that this film goes missing and falls into the underrated category. Since its release the only real buzz about Chronicle has been small articles about the sequel that will never come.(if you’re curious, do some quick Googling, the script is out there) It has yet to find a new audience through streaming platforms or on television, but it also hasn’t had the chance. Chronicle isn’t a movie that you’ll see playing on the SyFy channel or something that sits on Netflix forever for people to eventually find, but it should be. Just this past week the film and the superior Director’s Cut came to HBO Max so maybe it can finally get some of the love it has been missing since its release. This 89-minute film is worth the time of those tired of the Marvel formula or Marvel enthusiasts looking for something to hold them over until theaters open and Black Widow or WW84 can be released.
5/5 STARS