Sunday, April 22, 2012

Chronicle (2012).

Chronicle (2012): Another damn good american science fiction with college going kids getting super powers and using it just for fun gone wrong. It starts on a very low note and gradually picks up and delivers a mind blowing spectacle in the end. You don't take anything home but it definitely entertains you. Hardly 80 minutes of running time keeps it short and sweet.

There isn't much that you haven't seen in past yet its a great one time watch. I now totally agree with that spiderman's punch line "with great power comes great responsibility" after seeing this. How and what they do and then how do they end up is a good lesson.
Andrew is a high school going kid with almost no life. His life is rather fucked up with an abusive dad who actually beats him up, mother suffering from cancer and bed ridden, neighbors and other school mates bully him all the time, almost no friends. One fine day he picks up a cam and starts videotaping his own life. People again make fun of it and his camera gets tossed up so many times. Movie is actually shot in a first person account with a handheld camera - mostly andrews only.

His cousin matt takes him to a party so they can have some beer and andrew can mix up with people and make some friends. But unfortunately andrew gets thrown out of the party and another classmate steve approaches him as he had seen something strange in woods and wants to videotape it. As andrew was idle he agrees and they check out a little opening in the ground, get in with steve and matt to explore it further. They see some strange crystals inside, it was making weird noise - they do touch it and go blank. Woken up next day they go back again to the same spot and see that the area was covered and blocked for public viewing. Later they realize and see some strange change in themselves. They actually got some kind of power from the crystal that they can pick up small pebbles and move them :).

As the days go by they realize their powers were increasing and they actually start shuffling and juggling things. They can actually move cars and bigger things to. They keep doing that for fun sake and andrew keeps videotaping the same. Till one day matt realizes they can actually float and fly too :) just like superman. Andrew starts floating his camera and starts flying too. This point onwards movie is total fun and a visual delight till everything goes wrong as during one of their flying sessions steve gets hit by lightening and dies. They decide not to tell anyone of their powers and never to use them again. Till andrew does it as his life gets more screwed cause of his father and he needs money for his mothers medication and that's where it all goes wrong and what happens next is predictable but mindblowing climax.

There are so many damn good sequences in between which were like great fun. When they realize they can float - its awesome to see them float and fly with the camera. Another shot when they are flying and a air plane crosses them inches close :). Blowing the skirts of girls with a blower from a distance. Moving cars in parking and seeing the owners reaction. A magic show they do in school where andrew becomes famous and his life changes for a very short time. One of the damn good sequence is when they play football in air - its simply ravishing seeing them play football and floating camera shoots them.

The ending half hour is spell binding and edge of the seat action as matt and steve fight. Cars are thrown. Buildings are blown. Choppers shooting. Cops following - everything around them is simply awesome action. But how it all ends is convincing yet you feel sorry for the kids.
Its actually a lesson that you can get extra ordinary powers but using and handling them isn't easy. It can be dangerous too.

Its a nice one time watch for visual extravaganza and a great lesson in the end.

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