MovieChat Forums > Chronicle (2012) Discussion > I was AMAZED at how much I disliked it.....

I was AMAZED at how much I disliked it...am I alone?


I like superhero movies; I like high-school dramas. I'm down with the found footage technique, though I think it's over-rated. I watched this film with a friend who has similar tastes. We kept cringing, and around the beer pong scene, were actually curling up on the couch in physical suffering over how much this movie sucked. I really feel like I'm close enough to the target demographic...although apparently I'm just getting out of touch.

It's like the screenwriters designed the characters--emo loser, philosophical type, and popular jock--and then hired whoever wrote the MTV remake of Skins to write all three of them. All three characters talked the same way, all the time. Matt's character in particular was the mostly poorly written "philosophical type" I've ever seen in a High School movie; he had no insights and could rarely form an articulate sentence. Andrew's character arc had some promise; his home life was genuinely disturbing, but having it end with him hurling school buses and patrol cars through the air was the ultimate cop-out to generic action, strangely anti-climactic amidst all of the effects.

In-as-much as the movie has a "message," it seems to be that if you're an abused, disturbed teenager, letting out your anger by killing hundreds of people doesn't make you a bad person because after all, you're an abused and disturbed teenager. Imagine this: a movie about one of the Columbine killers which ends with one of their friends in Tibet saying, "you're not a bad person. I'll do better. I'll help people..." Of course he's a bad person, and so is Andrew. The script is so under-baked when it comes to morality and motivation that it rams down our throats the idea that Andrew's actions are somehow inevitable and more his friends fault than his own, since they didn't love him in the way that he wanted.

Two scenes I liked: playing at the store with their powers (the shopping cart, etc.), and when Andrew beats up the bullies, there's a the moment when he's twirling their inert bodes, possible their corpses, around on the pavement, almost using their hair as paintbrushes to smear the blood on the street. Now THAT was compelling sh-t, most disturbing image in the movie by far.

I dunno...I guess the point of this post is to ask a simple question: Did anyone else just really basically hate the movie, mostly because of how annoying and one dimensional the characters were? Or am I just completely missing something?



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he had no insights and could rarely form an articulate sentence
Have you talked to a high school kid recently?





Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos

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The movie SUCKED. I simply thought it was garbage. I know that you cant follow or use full logic with these movies, I understand that, but God does all aspects have to be so stupid. I knew the black guy was going to die. Every freakin movie! Being a black male doesnt make me feel great during these events. If the main characters mom is home dying from lung cancer because she cant get medicine, wouldnt you break into a bank or the pharmacy to get her the meds she needs? You were king of the talent show and less than 2 hours later, you turn into a complete
azz and is mad at the two guys that helped you become popular? You dont kick your abusive dads azz just for the fun of it? The guy was poor, why not use the powers to save your mother and make your life comfortable.

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You seem to be mistaking character's bad decisions for bad moviemaking.. This happens a lot, and I don't get it.

In real life, people do stupid *beep* all the time. As in movies.. Steve was a great character and his death revealed Andrew's lack of rage control. Sorry he was black, that does seem like a trope, but that *beep* made me sad. He was a righteous dude. He could've been a white guy and no one would've noticed, I suppose.

You think Andrew kicked his dad's azz for the fun of it? Or did he just lose control with an abuser? He said I COULD CRUSH YOU, yet refrained.. there was some level of control (in that first encounter)

He probably went for getting some cash because the Pharmacist said he had to order the meds, right? So the meds wouldn't be there.. You can question his judgement all you want, but does that make the movie bad. I could watch a movie about Hitler, and hate all his *beep* and mock all his bad decisions, and still enjoy the movie..

Yeah I godwin'd this

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How did you not like it?!? You know what, *beep* it, I give up. I can't do this anymore, as I clearly don't understand this world. No, seriously, I've got a gun here, and it's time to end it all. *beep* you, *beep* See you in hell.

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Finally! Hey everyone we can stop acting like pricks now, that douche finally did it!

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Right on, man...

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now wierdly i agree with pretty much every point you make however i still thoughj the movie was great. perhaps one of the best i've seen this year and i watch a hell of a lot of movies. for me it might even knock kickass out of the best superhero movie of all time slot.
might, but probably not.

"I've seen your light. It burns bright forever. No more blue tomorrows... you on high now."

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It was bad. The phony documentary style of filming and the incredibly annoying characters made it very difficult to watch.

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not alone. i too disliked it. and agree with what you said. i thought some scenes were interesting, but my dislike for the characters made the movie painful to watch. i had no sympathy for the main character at all. i was excited to see it and glad i waited to rent it. 4/10.

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Well, I can agree on some of the points, and in truth I didn't particularly like the whole "footage" film concept but overall, hmmm, I must admit I really enjoyed it, the special effects were pretty cool (for the flying they used some rig created to test absence of gravity)
it could have been better, but there's a lot worse around if you ask me (the list of worse movies than this, IMO, would be so long I don't even want to start), this one at least had plenty of enjoyable moments and the pace was pretty fast so it's never really boring.

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I was rather entertained by this movie and I enjoyed it. No I am not about to run out and buy the BR release, and I probably will not watch it again, but I did not feel the need to turn it off while watching it.

Saying that you disliked something does not make it the worst movie ever, saying that you liked it does not make it the greatest, it is all about personal preference/tastes.

There are a lot of movies which I liked (ex. Drunken Master) that people (ex. my girlfriend) completely disliked, and vice-versa. "Sucker Punch" comes to mind for me. I could not even finish watching it (girlfriend loved it), but that does not mean that it is a horrible movie (or an amazing one) I just disliked it, and it did not hold my attention.

@peterfaure I agree there are A LOT worse films out there, IMO...
*MIB3 trailer plays while typing* Yeah...stuff like that.

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Ahh... An enlightened opinion. Refreshing.

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better than over hyped the avengers

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