Chronicle (2012)
★★½ — Chronicle (2012)
Josh Trank made Chronicle as his debut feature, having come up through television (a couple of short-lived American shows) with no major theatrical credit to his name. The film was produced on a modest $15 million budget, which made its $145 million global return a genuine commercial surprise and briefly positioned Trank as one of Hollywood's most wanted directors (he was fast-tracked onto Fantastic Four, a project that would end rather badly for him a few years later). Chronicle arrived during a particular sweet spot for found-footage films, roughly a decade after The Blair Witch Project had established the format, when studios were still willing to back the conceit on tight budgets. Dane DeHaan and Michael B. Jordan were both relative unknowns at the time of filming, with Jordan only a year or so removed from his work on Friday Night Lights.
Chronicle (2012) starts with a killer idea (three teens discover a mysterious object that gives them telekinetic powers) and cleverly frames the story through found footage, blending superhero origin with teenage realism. The early scenes are strong: awkward high school dynamics, viral fame from small-scale levitation stunts, and the thrill of discovering abilities no one else has. It feels fresh, grounded, even relatable, for a while. But as the powers grow, so do the film’s ambitions, and unfortunately, it starts to buckle under them. The third act veers into darker, more chaotic territory, trading psychological depth for spectacle and emotional nuance for destruction porn. The handheld camera style, which works at first, becomes exhausting over time, shaky, disorienting, and often obscuring the action you actually want to see. And while the main cast give solid performances (especially Jordan as the moral anchor), the script doesn’t dig deep enough into what power does to people beyond surface-level descent into ego and rage. It’s not bad, it’s well-shot, has moments of real tension, and the concept is still compelling years later, but it never fully delivers on its potential. The promise of a grounded, character-driven take on superpowers fizzles out in favour of a generic “hero vs. villain” showdown. Interesting premise, decent execution, but ultimately falls flat where it matters most. A missed opportunity to be more than just another origin story with shaky cam. Worth watching once, then forgotten.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2012 | Watched: 2025-10-07
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: Disney Plus
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Physical: Amazon UK
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