DVD Review: CHRONICLE (2012)

 
CHRONICLE
Directedy by:  Josh Trank
Distributed by:  20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

  If you didn't get a chance to check out CHRONICLE in theaters earlier this year, then you missed out on one hell of a sci-fi/action film.  What I thought was going to be a regular sci-fi movie actually turned into one of the best super-hero movies I have seen in a long time.   Now keep in mind, this was not your typical super-hero movie, along the lines of a Superman or Spiderman, but it did turn into a film about people with special powers with one turning bad and the other good, battling it out in an epic finale. Before I go any further with the review,  here is the plot description from the 20th Century Fox website:

Seen through the lens of a troubled teen’s video camera, yet filled with eye-popping action and jaw-dropping special effects, Chronicle is as real as it gets. When three ordinary high school friends make an extraordinary discovery, they acquire amazing abilities beyond their understanding. But as their powers develop, so do their darker sides. Fun, harmless pranks soon lead to much riskier activities as the boys’ “gifts” — and their lives — spin dangerously out of control!

  This movie was one of the most enjoyable films I have seen in a long time.  The acting was great and the effects were spectacular.   The film starts off with some teens discovering something in a hole in the ground....something we assume came from space, like a meteor or something.  The guys touched the thing and they soon discover they have some very special heightened senses and powers.   The main thing the discover is the ability to move things with their mind.  While the start with very small things (like a hilarious scene with a little girl and a teddy bear), they eventually learn to move bigger things like cars and such.  The guys explain that this power is like a muscle, and they more they use it, the stronger it gets.    This is also apparent in a very cool scene when they realize that they can levitate.  They just go a little ways off the ground at first, but they more they keep trying, the higher they get until a cut scene shows them flying at ease up above the clouds!  Very cool stuff!!

  I won't say too much, as I don't want to give anything away, but the movie turns into a sort of super-hero film when a one of the guys starts using his powers for bad reasons.  One of the other guys realizes he has gone too far and battles it out with his friend in one of the coolest fight scenes I have seen in quite some time.

  If you have not seen CHRONICLE, check it out as soon as you can.  Even if you have seen it already, I'm sure you will want to see it again.  CHRONICLE is out now on DVD and Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
 

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD or Blu-ray