A Different Super Power Movie

If you have had your fill of The Avengers and are looking to fill the gap before  The Amazing Spider-Man opens followed by the final film in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, there is a very intriguing, very different take on the genre.  Chronicle tells the story of three high school lads who discover a crater which they follow underground in which they discover a glowing object and pass out.  After inexplicably returning above ground, each of the teens discover that they have the power of telekinesis (the ability to move objects with their minds).

One of the interesting things about Chronicle is that it is shot in “lost footage” style.  Andrew (the central character of the piece) has a penchant for filming everything from school to his family life.  What starts out as creating with Legos with no hands soon develops into increasingly dangerous pranks until a big battle in the skies of Seattle ensues.

For me, the most fascinating theme of the movie is the question of what having “Great Power” means to three young men.  It is fun to see Andrew (the outcast), Matt (the “normal, everyday” teenager), and Steve (the Big Man on Campus) experiment with their newly acquired skill; however, it delves into the darker side.  If Uncle Ben had not given his sage advice hours before his death, would Peter Parker have become a hero?  Would Clark Kent have battled for “Truth, Justice, and all that other stuff” if he had not been raised by his morally upstanding Earthly parents?  The timely nature vs. nurture scenario.

A fun little film that I was not aware of three months ago when it hit movie theaters.  There are no big name stars but still a different take on two (at the moment) popular genres.