Josh Trank, who smartly darkened up the superhero genre with his small-scale angry-teen film Chronicle, goes big, dumbs down, and ultimately gets overwhelmed with this reboot about three fine actors (Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan) in search of a paycheck. Sorry, about four young people given astonishing powers by an act of juvenile glory-seeking. (What could be cooler than a selfie taken in an alternate dimension, on a planet that might just solve all of earth's energy problems?) Sorry, make that five young people — otherwise, who would our fantastic foursome have to fight at the end? The story is actually the best part here; all the pieces were in place for a Chronicle-style tale of fractured friendship, sibling resentment, adolescent angst, and superpowers. If only as much thought and care had been put into the acting, dialogue, sound, design, and yes, direction. There are so many places where you suspect you might feel something, if only it weren't so badly done. (2015) — Matthew Lickona
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