One Of The Best Superhero Movies You've Never Seen Turns 10 Years Old Today

'What are you capable of?' One of the best superhero movies of the past decade is 10 years old today.

Directed by Trank and written by Max Landis (the less we say about him, the better), it opens on a familiar sight: Andrew, a reclusive teenager (Dane DeHaan) filming himself in the mirror, shouting down his abusive father (Michael Kelly). At school, he's barely an inbetweener, hanging around his cousin Matt (Alex Russell) like a socially awkward limpet.

Somehow, the trio end up with amazing powers, including super-strength, telekinesis and the ability to fly. At first, they use them for mischief (scaring children in toy stores, blowing girls skirts like Marilyn Monroe on a subway grate) – but for one of them, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

There's genuine joy in watching them flex their superpowered muscles; throwing balls at one another's faces from wild angles, playing the world's highest game of catch before getting blindsided by a jumbo jet, using their tricks to perform magic for their peers. It also boasts an early era Michael B. Jordan performance showcasing the exact charisma that led him to Creed (and sadly, to Trank's disastrous Fantastic Four reboot).

Yet, the darkness creeps in like a vignette; the raw sight of a car being crushed with anger and power is jaw-dropping, and Trank uses the found-footage gimmick with breathless flair in a gnarly, rather terrifying finale.

Off a budget of just $12 million, Chronicle grossed more than $126 million at the box office – a modest hit by today's ballooned standards, but it's become a bit of a whispered favourite in recent years. Not to say it wasn't acclaimed, boasting a solid 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Even after all these years, with countless comic book movies and shows to gorge on, it's a potent reminder that 'not all heroes are super'.