Superhero Media: Chronicle

Chronicle was sold to me as a pretty decent film, with many insisting that I would find it engrossing and entertaining. I was hesitant and avoided the film for quite some time, as I've never been a fan of the "found footage" style of cinematography, finding it to be disjointed and never really used the the full as a storytelling device. Chronicle does it better than many other films I've seen, but sometimes the amount and quality of cameras on the characters gets a bit silly. Our story begins with three youths finding an alien device that unlocks their latent potential for telekinetic powers. The three form a bond over this and soon the jock, the stoner and the nerd are causing havoc and testing the limits of their abilities. 

First up, I really like telekinesis as a powers set, it's right up the top of my list of super powers I'd like, but it rarely gets pushed to the limits in any media. One of the better elements of Chronicle is that the characters have to test and analyse their powers and the limits thereof, something that all too often gets skimmed over in origin stories, the focus instead being on action. Sadly, the character development is both a bit lacking and a bit obvious in places; the abused nerd lashes out pretty much straight away, even when he starts to form a genuine friendship with the Jock. The fact that I can't actually remember the names of any of the character is about the best indication of their lack of any real depth or interest. 
 

So, if you haven't seen it, Chronicle is worth a look, it's kind of nifty and pretty unique. I'd say it has more value as inspiration for supers Roleplaying rather than miniature wargames, with people trying to come to terms with what has happened to him and very few answers to the big questions. I'm not in a rush to see it again, but I don' feel like the time was wasted. Something a bit like this for a MCU "Marvels" film would be really interesting and work with the whole "point of view" thing a lot better.