Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4 , saying , " From the deceptively ordinary beginning , Josh Trank 's '' Chronicle '' grows into an uncommonly entertaining movie that involves elements of a superhero origin story , a science-fiction fantasy and a drama about a disturbed teenager . '' Empire '' critic Mark Dinning gave the film 4 stars out of 5 , saying that it is " a stunning superhero/sci-fi that has appeared out of nowhere to demand your immediate attention . " '' Total Film '' gave the film a five-star review ( denoting ' outstanding ' ) : " Believable then bad-ass , it is n't wholly original but it does brim with emotion , imagination and modern implication . " On the negative side , Andrew Schenker of Slant Magazine gave the film 2 out of 4 stars , saying the film , " offers up little more than a tired morality play about the dangers of power , rehashing stale insights about the narcissism of the documentary impulse . " The film was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film at 39th Saturn Awards , but lost to '' The Avengers ''
39th Saturn Awards
39th Saturn Awards
Chronicle (film)