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Based upon a lot of positive word of mouth, I decided to watch the new film Chronicle. If you've heard little about this movie (or have just seen only the trailer), I can say this is easily one of the best "super hero" films I've seen in years. Some basic info about the film can be found in the wiki link below (though don't read the details if you don't want to be spoiled):

chronicle_ver5_xlg.jpeg

http://en.wikipedia....icle_(film)

I will say just labelling this movie as a "super hero" tale - while descriptive as a sound bite - does the film a terrible diservice. Chronicle is so much more than that: in fact, it's fair to say this film is basically a live action Akira done right...in a way. The story of Chronicle is much more immediate and smaller than the story of Akira, but while the film eschews the broader evolution of humanity, social/political themes and human existence in Akira (for the most part), it does tell a very compelling "chronicle" of three young kids gaining super powers. What results is a very unrealistic premise explored in a very realistic way. The characters all act like real people would in the given circumstances and the performances of all the actors are spot on. The film can be incredibly funny but it also explores some dark stuff. You get a sense how the story will play out from the beginning, but that doesn't make any of the emotional beats any less poignant. I'd like to say more, but I don't want to spoil anything. I will say I was thoroughly entertained and enthralled throughout the film. I don't think I've ever felt this much elation at the idea of super powers as I was while watching the characters discover their abilities in Chroncile. For anyone who has ever had a dream of flying, you owe it to yourself to see this film.

An online film commentator said recently in his podcast that all us geeks can rest easy now because a proper Akira live action story has been made. While it's not entirely accurate, there is some truth. If the live action Akira film ever happens and fails, Chronicle will definitely satisfy the same desire for that story on the big screen. Highly recommended.

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I saw it last weekend myself, and was thoroughly impressed. Reminded me more of Domu than Akira, given the smaller, more personal scale. Excellent film.

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Saw it this weekend. I thought it was great. I asked around my office if anyone else saw it. No one even heard of it. Which is usually to be expected for a "good" movie.

Spoileriffic comments

the ONLY thing I didn't like about the movie is the blonde girl Casey and the pink haired girl looked way too old to be High School girls. That was my only nitpick.

The battle at the end was pretty intense. I cannot remember when a movie last had me on the edge of my seat like that. And I loved how Andrew not only became a monster mentally (I mean though, who can blame the kid considering how badly he was pushed around), but physically as well. Having him floating there all bandaged, bloody and burnt was perfect in my opinion.

anyways, lots of good things to say about the movie

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It was on at the cinemas here recently, but I passed, as it got promototed more as a juvenile/teen film for the Twilight crowd. Is that not the case then?

Graham

I had the same impression when I saw the promo in Hong Kong and dismissed it as another kids' film. My American friend told me it's not the case and highly recommends it. Guess I will give it a try at some point.

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It was on at the cinemas here recently, but I passed, as it got promototed more as a juvenile/teen film for the Twilight crowd. Is that not the case then?

Graham

That is absolutely NOT the case. I mean, yes, the characters are all teenagers (the cast, however, only in that magical Hollywood suspension-of-disbelief way), and the film's central themes revolve around the quintessentially teenage conflicts of alienation and the search for identity, but it's not dripping with teen angst or anything remotely Twilight-ish. The themes are addressed in a serious manner in order to form a solid foundationn for the main characters. I would say the first season of Heroes, the comic Rising Stars, and the aforementioned Domu are its closer media-kin. Never Twilight.

Edited by Penguin
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It never occured to me to compare Chronicle to Akira but the comparision is apt... to me thought, i got the vibe of 'what if', simply the aliens or what ever, testing the kids. kinda like Spiderman without anyone even suggesting 'With Great Power Comes...'

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Penguin

Haven't seen Domu, but from the synposis it sounds similar. Regardless, a great little film all around. Glad more people are seeing it and really happy it's doing very well at the box office.

Rabidweezil

Most definitely. It was compelling in the way the character of Andrew changed throughout the course ot the film. At each point you could feel why he was going to react a certain way, and while you wanted things to turn out, I felt you wanted to see where the story would go when things went bad. If only Anakin Skywalker's transformation from man to monster was as compelling as Andrew's :)

Graham

I can understand that. The trailer is clearly made to get teen asses into the seats and does little to distinguish Chronicle from other disposable teen film fare. But I can agree with Penguin's post and say Chronicle is definitely a film of substance that stands apart by doing something different and doing it very well. If you don't see it in a theatre visit, I'd suggest making a point to rent/stream it when it becomes available on home video or streaming. At the very least it's worth a shot, which is not something that can be said for most films. Check it out.

TehPW

There was definitely more than a little Akira in Chronicle, but it is it's own film for sure. One funny thing I've read about Chronicle is some saying it's like an origin story for a super villain while some say it's a hero origin story. It's probably best described as both and yet Chronicle does better doing both stories than most films do with just one story :)

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Rabidweezil

Most definitely. It was compelling in the way the character of Andrew changed throughout the course ot the film. At each point you could feel why he was going to react a certain way, and while you wanted things to turn out, I felt you wanted to see where the story would go when things went bad. If only Anakin Skywalker's transformation from man to monster was as compelling as Andrew's :)

What???

Darth Sidious: "Anakin, come to the darkside"

Anakin: "ok!"

How is that not compelling? ^_^

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Penguin

Haven't seen Domu, but from the synposis it sounds similar. Regardless, a great little film all around. Glad more people are seeing it and really happy it's doing very well at the box office.

Yeah, it's pretty hard to find Domu in North America these days. It was never animated, and though Dark Horse licensed and printed the manga (proud owner I am), it's long out of print. Top notch Otomo manga. Really cinematic. There are some Akira nuclei in there.

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  • 2 years later...

I loved Chronicle, I saw it twice in theaters and I bought it on BluRay day one of release. It had a very Akira feel through the second half, especially into the final act, which was cool. For me, this film was like District 9, another giant stand out hit that crap on all the big budget competition for the year, a cast of nobodies, a tiny budget, and yet it was incredibly well done.

Edited by Tking22
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Hells yeah. I find a lot of the best films now are small gems like this or foreign films. District 9, Chronicle, Dredd, The Raid...these are worth ten times their budget compared to most of the garbage in theatres nowadays.

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