Can Chronicle Pull Off the Found Footage Style?

What are you capable of? That is the tag line of the new sci-fi film Chronicle and after watching the trailer I find myself seriously thinking the same thing.

Chronicle rips a childhood fantasy right from my head as three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.

Who hasn’t thought about getting superpowers from what might be an alien or an artifact? Moving things with their minds like Jedi, flying, or invulnerability to harm… all of these seem to make an appearance in the trailer. What would you really do with these abilities? Would you put on tights and fight crime? More than likely, you’d have a little fun before any situation that required you to be a “superhero” ever arose.

Chronicle is filmed using a found footage style seen moreso in horror movies like The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity, but will be the first time it is used for a superhero film. If you’re worried this means it’s going to be a low budget effects film, I would say it doesn’t look like that at all. Aside from a flying scene which looks a little cheap, there are some effects in the trailer that look just about epic. I get chills seeing character Andrew Detmer crush a car with his abilities. Check out the trailer below to see what I mean.

To answer my own question, I do believe this movie will pull off the found footage style very well; in fact I think it will help the audience identify with obtaining superpowers even more. Let us know what you think: is it going to help the movie or should it have followed the big budget superhero action flick formula we all have come to know?

Chronicle hits theaters February 3rd, 2012.