The movie had a good viral marketing campaign too.

A couple friends and I went to see Chronicle last night.  None of us really had high expectations but were just curious to see how it was.  This movie is about the journey of three high school kids that stumble upon a mysterious object that gives them powers.

I wont give too much more of the plot away, because despite the meager $12 million budget of this film, it’s definitely worth seeing.  Especially since this weekends re-release of The Phantom Menace in 3D, trust me, see Chronicle instead, it’s better.

The “main” character, Andrew, is the videographing obsessed unpopular kid, his dads a drunk ex-firefighter and his mom is dying from an unnamed ailment.  Right off the bat we can tell that this isn’t going to end well, this kid is just on a collision course with a melt down no one can blame him for in his circumstances.

Once he gets his powers, it’s just a waiting game.  Despite the very obvious direction the film will take, the rising action is done well as they first do what any teenager would do, mess with people.  The other two characters are Andrews cousin and the popular class president.

The film is shot completely from the perspective of cameras in the world.  This isn’t pulled off as well as in Cloverfield, but ends up working fairly well, considering Andrews timely obsession with wanting everything on video.

The characters are believable, their motivations acceptable, and who they are with powers fits in well with what we know about them.  Andrew is the most flushed out character, given his story is the main focus, but the meatiest portion of what we as an audience can care about, are his interaction with his cousin and Steve (the class president kid).

I never found myself disbelieving that these other two guys wouldn’t do what they did given these circumstances.  They’re genuine people that anyone can identify with, because they’re the type of people you’d want to be friends with.

The special effects were well done and considering the budget, it’s probably why they went with the whole documentary-style.  Some parts of the script and dialogue earned a chuckle for their simplicity and stereotyping natures, but are easily looked over when you take the movie less seriously than you should.  The acting fell under the same saving umbrella of “well, what can we expect from such a small production.”

Despite “small productions” churning out some amazing material, all these actors are pretty much unknowns.  Except Steve, some people might recognize him.  Either way, it was a good performance and falls near Hancock on the whole super powers front.

Which I think, is why I liked it so much.  This was an original work, not based off of a novel, graphic novel or comic.  It wasn’t a reboot, trying to mimic other super power movies, or use nostalgia as a selling point.  No, this was actually something original.

I use that term loosely given the near impossibility of being 100% original.  The origin type story, the high school/social dynamics, and down-on-his-luck teen themes aren’t anything knew.  But Chronicle stewed them together in just the right way to freshen up our movie going experience.

That’s a big reason why I liked it, it was a small group of film makers trying to do something new, and they succeeded.  The bottom line is this, go see it.  It’s already made over double its production value, and the more people see it, the higher the likelihood of this turning into a franchise, which is something I really hope for.  There are some burning questions I want answered.

My final thought: I was describing the plot in detail to my wife while we laid in bed this morning.  Upon describing the final shot, I found myself stirred by emotions I didn’t know I’d had about it, which made me reflect on the film even more.

It’s good.  Not like, Academy Awards good, or instant classic, but literally just good.  It left me with similar thoughts and feelings that the final shot to A Prophet did.  Not quite to that degree, considering how much more depressing Prophet is throughout the movie, but it still just left me with that warm feeling of goodness.