SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT!
Okay, so I saw Chronicle a few days ago and have been wrestling with my feelings towards it ever since. I can't say I didn't like it because I actually did. The character's were well portrayed, the effects weren't awful, the story moved fast enough that I wasn't bored for too long of periods at a time, and the video camera gimmick gets some good use here. But there is still something bothering me about this movie and I think I've nailed it down.
First and foremost, I will NOT be watching MovieBob's review of a movie again until I've seen the movie itself. CinemaRobert's review really spoiled some parts of the movie I would have preferred to have been surprised by. No, I wouldn't have been shocked when the black guy dies or the abused kid goes psycho, but I wouldn't have known it was going to happen from the start.
And that really is my first criticism of Chronicle; the black guy dies. I was really hoping that the one who was going to die wouldn't be the black guy this time, this ONE time. And I think they made the wrong choice on who to kill off anyway. Steve ( the black guy ) actually developed a relationship with Andrew ( goes crazy ) over the course of the movie. First they aren't friends, then they're hanging out all the time. Steve helps Andrew put on a talent show and be cool for the first time in his life, and they even have several talks comparing their home lives. Andrew and his cousin ( the third main character who was so bland I can't remember his name ) had no relationship other than they were cousins.
The other thing that bothered me was the final fight between Andrew and Captain Bland McForgettable. The video camera gimmick was cool in that You followed the fight from security cameras and a news helicopter but the fight just seemed to have no impact for me. Instead of them going on a fighting sight-seeing tour of downtown Seattle, I think it would have had more emotional impact if the final fight happened at their school. Remember that shot they cut to a couple times, where Andrew is sitting in the bleachers outside his school eating lunch alone and watching the cheerleaders practice and the football players warming up? Couldn't you just see that shot occurring again at the end of the movie, but with Andrew dive-bombing in and tossing everyone about like rag dolls? MovieBob described this movie as "a superhero movie for the post Columbine world", so why not just have this movie be Columbine, but with superpowers? It would definately have real emotional impact, real world parralles, and some meaning beyond "Don't make fun of unstable teens with telekinesis."
But those are just my thoughts.
Okay, so I saw Chronicle a few days ago and have been wrestling with my feelings towards it ever since. I can't say I didn't like it because I actually did. The character's were well portrayed, the effects weren't awful, the story moved fast enough that I wasn't bored for too long of periods at a time, and the video camera gimmick gets some good use here. But there is still something bothering me about this movie and I think I've nailed it down.
First and foremost, I will NOT be watching MovieBob's review of a movie again until I've seen the movie itself. CinemaRobert's review really spoiled some parts of the movie I would have preferred to have been surprised by. No, I wouldn't have been shocked when the black guy dies or the abused kid goes psycho, but I wouldn't have known it was going to happen from the start.
And that really is my first criticism of Chronicle; the black guy dies. I was really hoping that the one who was going to die wouldn't be the black guy this time, this ONE time. And I think they made the wrong choice on who to kill off anyway. Steve ( the black guy ) actually developed a relationship with Andrew ( goes crazy ) over the course of the movie. First they aren't friends, then they're hanging out all the time. Steve helps Andrew put on a talent show and be cool for the first time in his life, and they even have several talks comparing their home lives. Andrew and his cousin ( the third main character who was so bland I can't remember his name ) had no relationship other than they were cousins.
The other thing that bothered me was the final fight between Andrew and Captain Bland McForgettable. The video camera gimmick was cool in that You followed the fight from security cameras and a news helicopter but the fight just seemed to have no impact for me. Instead of them going on a fighting sight-seeing tour of downtown Seattle, I think it would have had more emotional impact if the final fight happened at their school. Remember that shot they cut to a couple times, where Andrew is sitting in the bleachers outside his school eating lunch alone and watching the cheerleaders practice and the football players warming up? Couldn't you just see that shot occurring again at the end of the movie, but with Andrew dive-bombing in and tossing everyone about like rag dolls? MovieBob described this movie as "a superhero movie for the post Columbine world", so why not just have this movie be Columbine, but with superpowers? It would definately have real emotional impact, real world parralles, and some meaning beyond "Don't make fun of unstable teens with telekinesis."
But those are just my thoughts.
