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?

posted 13 years ago by DietSoda78
177 replies | jump to latest

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?

[–] gotmyorangecrush 13 years ago

To be perfectly honest, I couldn't get past the terrible acting. I might have actually loved this film if it had better dialogue and FAR better actors. This was hands down some of the worst acting I have ever seen and the the fact that the script had them running around for the first half of the film like drunken 12 year old's didn't help. All in all I think the premise of the film is very interesting and I like the alternate take on the whole super hero mythos but in the end it was poorly executed and the horrendous acting is what sticks out the most for me. Sure the special effects were cool but I don't go see films just for special effects. Amazing special effects can make a great film just that much better. Amazing special effects in a film riddled with problems....well, that is a different story entirely as they cant magically turn a bad film into a great film.

Of course, this isn't the first film that has come out that deals with this darker side to super powers. Even Jumper had a bit of this written into the script.

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] ricardolivo 13 years ago

I agree with you, Mr. gotmyorangecrush, I think the premise (the concept) of the movie is good, special effects are very good, storyline is not bad, but the characters are way too unidimensional, like a forced cliche, their story development and dialogues are weak, and the acting is....not good.

[–] reggers20 13 years ago

umm the acting was not bad... sure it was not the greatest... you cannot cast Daniel Day Lewis for every role so what can you expect. To call their acting horrible is uncalled for, and incorrect. also they act like "drunken 12 year old's" as you so eloquently put it, for a reason they are in high school how would you act if you were in high school and just got amazing super powers... Also you never give any sort of theatrical charity or whatever... the movie was not poorly executed, if you think so you completely disregard context. the movie is only 84min with a 12million dollar budget... those are some pretty significant constraints when you are trying to portray the psychology of an angsty teen as he is consumed by power and what not... When judging films it is important to take extenuating factors into consideration... if you go into every film judging it with the same scrutiny as you would a 200min 100million dollar film like lord of the rings then you should never watch another movie again just stick to reading books...

[–] petey0707 13 years ago

No, it was pretty bad. Terrible, I've seen students in my high school drama classes act better than them.

[–] gotmyorangecrush 13 years ago

Your entitled to your opinion Reggers just as I am entitled to mine. IMO, this was hands down some of the worst acting I have ever seen. Daniel Day lewis, lol. You have to be kidding me. There are literally hundreds of films released every year that don't have A list actors in them and many of them have great performances. You don't need to hire A list actors to get quality acting. In fact, I VASTLY prefer not to have A list actors in roles like these as its almost impossible not to associate those actors with other roles. Using lesser known actors is definitely the way to go with films like this. I just prefer them to actually have acting skill and these actors did not, or at least not in this film. This was piss poor acting, to the point where it totally ruined the film for me.

As for your question:

"how would you act if you were in high school and just got amazing super powers.."

I certainly wouldn't act like they did, running around giggling like 12 year old school girls. As for the last part of your post, where you preach how one should watch movies.....well, what can one even say to such nonsense. Ill tell you what, you worry about what you do with your time and I will worry about what I do with my time. I actually read quite a bit but I also enjoy watching films and if you honestly think for a second that I am going to let some misc IMDB user, one who doesn't even understand what subjective opinion means, dictate what medium I choose for a particular story.....well, lets just say its never going to happen. Again you worry about your own choices and I will take care of mine.

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] reggers20 13 years ago

yes you are entitled to your opinion, but not all opinions are created equal... some are more valid than others. and again you say it was the worst acting you have ever seen well be that as it may that does not necessarily make them bad actors of the three main characters the only one who I had herd of prior to this movie was the black kid, he was in the tv show the wire, and he did well in that role. The other two based on their imdb resume are pretty green so yeah... again you seem to disregard context and treat them as if they are vets of their trade...

you clearly missed my point when referencing Daniel Day Lewis... I was trying to say that you seem scrutinize them the same way you would scrutinize Mr. Lewis... Its not fair... It would be the same as if you were to hold a high school qb to the same standards as Tom Brady... what sense does that make

so i guess you were a bit more mature than the average high schooler... (doubt it) but whatever I'm just trying to play the devils advocate here... yeah i thought their antics were ummm a bit obnoxious but still completely plausible can you really say that no one in your high school would have acted that way...

like i said earlier not all opinions are created equal... there may not be a right way to watch a movie but there are definitely wrong ways to watch a movie... you seem like that guy who when watching superman returns sees the bullet bouncing off his eye.... you're the one going "yeahhhh right" thats you you're that guy...

[–] Brad-j-watson 13 years ago

I'm not sure I get where you are coming from saying his bit about "how to watch movies" is nonsense.
Sure, it wasn't worded particularly well but he has a valid point.
If you watch a movie and judge it by comparing it to every other movie you have seen, that's fine.
If you then didn't like the movie, that's awesome. Brush it off and move on, let your friends know its not worth watching- that the acting is bad and that the story makes no sense.
However, the second you start to critically dissect the film based on that method of viewing you have made an egregious oversight- but its still your opinion and YOU are entitled to have that.
If you then post that opinion specifically so other people can see and ruminate over it, well, that opinion then becomes a statement and unfortunately that statement is invalid.

A film is just a canvas for the story is being told. In that vein, you wouldn't critically compare a statue to a painting and come to the conclusion the statue is better because its got 3 dimensions. You wouldn't compare an oil painting to a water colour painting and declare the oil better because it has more detail. Sure, you can like one over the other because of those reasons, but no one really gives a sh!t about what anyone else’s likes or dislikes are anyway- unless its a first date, and even then...

Analysing something using proper method is the only conclusion people pay attention to, the only statements that actually have any traction.
For any sort of critiquing to be made, you have to account for the techniques used, and in the case of film these not only come in the form of what you see on screen, but also all the extenuating circumstances outside the film itself.
For a bunch of green actors, the first feature film for both director and writer and a budget of 12 million, this movie is incredible.

Any other situation? Then yes, its probably *beep* movie with horrible acting and weird plot holes created from poor character development.

[–] jamescraig2000 13 years ago

Right there with you

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This is my sig Not that ^

[–] peteroid 13 years ago

if you don't like something move on... yeah you have the right to complain... but just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.. but i suppose this will be lost of deaf ears...

- It has been said, that to write, is to live forever.... the man who wrote that... is dead! -

[–] jamescraig2000 13 years ago

I am moving on, I wont be returning to this forum to say how bad the movie is. I mainly do this for movies that I have high expectations for and then get disappointed. I come here because critics have raved about it and I didn't like it and am happy to converse with people who feel the same way.

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This is my sig Not that ^

[–] chiliwillster 13 years ago

I was amazed too at how much I disliked this film....and this from only watching the trailer.

[–] peteroid 13 years ago

"I was amazed too at how much I disliked this film....and this from only watching the trailer."

I was amazed at how hilarious i now think you are... and this from only reading your one comment! ;)

- It has been said, that to write, is to live forever.... the man who wrote that... is dead! -

[–] peteroid 13 years ago

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

if you think there is any value in discussing why you DON'T like something... then my guess is you will be alone your entire life...

- It has been said, that to write, is to live forever.... the man who wrote that... is dead! -

[–] gotmyorangecrush 13 years ago

There is just as much value in discussing why you disliked something as there is in discussing why you liked something. Anyone who tires to suggest otherwise is utterly clueless. I could just imagine what you would say to the millions of people that meet for things like book clubs every month. Everyone would get together in the room to discuss the latest book and you would immediately jump in and tell everyone that they are only to discuss the book if they actually liked it. People that didnt like it should remain silent or just go home, lol. How utterly ridiculous.

Go and take a critiquing class some day, or even just sit in on one and see what the teacher says about this simpleton point of view, or I should say an immature point of view. The problem with IMDB is there are so many immature people, that are completely incapable of hearing that someone has an opinion that differs from their own. They are completely incapable of listening to different opinions without blowing up and lashing out insults. Your posts are a perfect example and make no mistake about it, it has everything to do with maturity. So do everyone a favor and grow up! What makes this even worse is that this person wrote a specific thread for people who disliked the film. He wasn't trolling around the threads where people were discussing why they liked it. He created a specific thread for people to discuss why they didn't like it and you still come in here with your immature rants. Your the one trolling in this instance.

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] VoodooGuru 13 years ago

I think the main problem i had with this movie ... was no empathy for Andrew. And in a movie where your shown how disturbing one of the lead character's home life is, one should feel empathy for that character. But I didn't! He actually got on my nerves. I don't know if that's the actor's fault, or the writing of that character. All I know is, I did not sympathise with Andrew once in the movie. I took all the information given to me
a. Abusive Father.
b. Dying Mother
c. Social Isolation

... and I still couldn't come up with a reason why he went all evil. After the party scene I thought "what do you care what these people think? You can fly!!!! To hell with them. Go to Tibet! Get some peace." And really, that's coming from my annoyance with the character. I had no patience for him. And maybe that was great writing??? Maybe it was great acting!!!

Damn. I had little sympathy for the main character, even though he was abused and watching his mother die on a daily basis, he gains superpowers, and I have little time to figure out or care what his problem is having these superpowers. I had as much regard for Andrew as did the rest of his class, or his father. Or even his cousin, til he too gained superpowers.

I can't decide if this movie was actually effective, or relied on the hypothesis that for every Batman, you must have a Joker. But it wasn't like every time Andrew got retribution from those who had done him wrong that I cheered, or gained any empathy for him through those acts. Not even a "serves them right" feeling from those acts. It just all seemed unnecessary, especially after the fact that HE COULD FLY! If I could fly, I'd be out of Seattle in a heartbeat, or anywhere where life was just crap or had treated me bad. I could fly to --- anywhere. So why bother wasting time on these people who can't?

Had a hard time with this movie once they could fly. But then the movie I would've made would probably be an hour shorter.

[–] peteroid 13 years ago

"... and I still couldn't come up with a reason why he went all evil."

absolute power corrupts absolutely... that's why... and Andrew believed he was becoming so far advanced over human kind that he felt killing a human had about as much moral consequence as killing a fly... and even said this directly at one point!

Magneto would have made Andrew the poster child for his cause! hehe :)

- It has been said, that to write, is to live forever.... the man who wrote that... is dead! -

[–] reggers20 13 years ago

you do not understand human psychology... gaining super powers does not immediately nullify the 17years of life he had before he had his super powers... pretty much what happened is before having his super powers he was powerless to stop his abusive father or the bullies and what not... now bam insert amazing super powers tipping the balance of power heavily in his favor... except his father and the bullies did not get the message they are still operating on the old power structure, so clearly a confrontation is bound to occur and what do you know they piss him off but this time he has the power to do something about it... so yeah he goes over board as is the case when people suddenly gain a lot of something they have never had before... in his case it was power

but yea with that said his character is still hard to sympathize with, but i think it has more to do with the rapid progression of the movie, one second he is all "do you like me" then the next second he is all Apex Predator on everything... chalk it up to budgeting constraints

[–] JaqnHghar 13 years ago

You're not alone. I really wanted to like this film but I found it strangely unengaging. The dialogue was bad throughout and the three main characters were irritating and very dull. There were some nice touches in the film, some of the action scenes were quite well done, but overall I found it difficult to sit through.

And just for the record, I am a fan of horror and especially found footage supernatural/horror. I am not saying it's terrible, it's just very overrated. Not a patch on the likes of the original [Rec]2007 and The Blair Witch Project.

[–] LibertarianSoldier 13 years ago

"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. "

Although a different situation, though similar in a way, my roommate killed himself a few months ago. He was a good friend that I knew for years and I never got any indication of his intent to kill himself. Many told me that it was inevitable but for a long time, even a bit still today, I blame myself because I look back and think maybe I should have been there for him for, maybe I did something to push him along without knowing.

I actually believe this part of the story arc. While obviously it's not his cousins or family's fault that he abused his power in this way, but that feeling of guilt will be there from those who lived it, such as the characters.

It's not meant to tell you this is how it is, but that's how the characters believed it to be. You're suppose to take it and interpret it for yourself as you wish. The beauty of movies and individual imaginations....

[–] jslavik 13 years ago

Just watched this over the weekend and thought it was really well done. I thought it was a pretty realistic portrayal of how kids would react to having these powers. I mean, c'mon, who wouldn't want to play some of those pranks they did (i.e. moving the car, messing with people in the store etc)? I was pretty impressed with the effects as well. Everything looked pretty realistic, including the flying sequences - so much so, that you couldn't help but think 'what if.'

As far as the ending, it was a lot of fun to watch, but I suppose I was hoping for something a little different. Like I said though, fun to watch.

[–] petey0707 13 years ago

Only a group of complete idiots would play those pranks, unless they were in middle school or something I'd understand. But these are young adults about to pursue their lives and they still act like they're like 7th grade. I was disappointed to see such great power imbued into a group of complete *beep* morons. Why not harnass the energy? Keep it a secret and work on it instead of publicly displaying it? Don't you think the government would catch on and use you as a lab rat? They weren't at all subtle about it either, sorry but the character were overused stereotypes with god awful dialogue and a brain the size of a rotten peanut. They were *beep* idiots.

[–] thunderztorm 12 years ago

So not unlike most high schoolers these days then?

I mean, surely reality TV has SOME sort of target audience?

[–] MrLabcat 13 years ago

Not at all.

It's an absolutely godawful movie. Funny though, in a so-bad-it's-hilarious kind of way.

[–] Minimize 13 years ago

Saw it last night with some friends. 2 of us loved it, 1 of us liked it, and the last of us did not like it.

[–] Mythos_Ruler 13 years ago

The 7.2 aggregate rating for this movie is a bad joke. It's a 5.0 at best, but more like a 4 (which was my rating). I don't get that Matt or Steve were bad people, but I agree that Andrew simply was a bad person, no matter what happened in his childhood.

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Mythos

[–] thunderztorm 12 years ago

I found the 7 to be quite spot on, actually.

Tastes differ :)