Chroniques de Tchernobyl

*DISCLAIMER: This review is by an average-Joe guy who has a certain set of tastes pertaining to entertainment and movies, and in no way should directly influence your viewing decision without prior extensive personal research regarding the topic.

SHORT AND SWEET: Good "cheap-thrill" movie, enjoy with a couple buddies (or girls), beer, chips, and salsa.

LONG AND BITTER: Don't expect much, this movie is good for a cheap fun thrill-ride that will keep you almost on the edge of your seat until the fun suspense is over and you are revealed the quite obvious and (dull) antagonist(s) is/are in the movie. Ample concept and ample execution however terribly and I mean TERRIBLY reminiscent of the popular "horror-gore" movie "The Hills Have Eyes" RATING: I feel 6/10 is just right, this movie isn't quite the caliber to be in the upper tier of movies but is too good to toss into the pedestrian or worse category.

PERFECT FOR: Normal movie-goers who don't mind a little predictability and in-authenticity

This movie honestly isn't as bad as everyone's rating it. Sure, it had some predictable scenes and bad acting, but this isn't supposed to be a serious movie. If you going to see it with the mindset of it being deep and intellectual, you are more than likely not going to enjoy it. It uses tension to scare you more than anything else. Not very much gore and violence. It's worth seeing, despite everyone's reviews. I didn't know what was going to happen next for the majority of the movie. If you have to choose between this and "Cabin In The Woods" you should definitely see cabin. This, however, is worth seeing as well. I hope people who go to see this won't be expecting a intriguing movie with a deep story, and just go for the sheer excitement of the film.

The set up of going to an abandoned city was cool and up until the CGI bear appearing the film was at least engaging. But in the end this film is a collection of cliches, tropes and jump scares all trying to hide the script's emptiness. A bad horror film would have been more entertaining than this flavorless offering.

The Americans Chris (Jesse McCartney), his girlfriend Natalie (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and their friend Amanda (Devin Kelley) leave Los Angeles on vacation and they travel to Europe. They go to Ukraine to meet Chris' brother Paul (Jonathan Sadowski) that lives in Kiev. Chris wants to travel to Moskow to propose Natalie, but Paul convinces the girls to visit Chernobyl instead in extreme tourism

They go to the agency of the guide Uri (Dimitri Diatchenko) and he explains that he can only go to Pripyat, a derelict city near to Chernobyl, due to the level of radiation. The couple "Viking" Zoe (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and Michael (Nathan Phillips) join the group and they travel by van. On the arrival, they find a military barrier that asks them to return. However, Uri uses an alternative way through the woods to reach the town. The group spends the day visiting the area and the abandoned buildings and Uri is worried and decides to return to the van. However, the car does not start and Uri realizes that the wires were chewed. Soon they discover that they are stranded in the town and that they are not alone.

"Chernobyl" is a horror movie with an interesting storyline: a group of Americans go on extreme tourism to Chernobyl and discover a dreadful secret about a place that was supposed to be inhabited. The first half is scary and very realistic, and I believe that most of the youths has one day made something crazy by impulse that he or she will recall for the rest of his or her life. Even in Rio de Janeiro, there is extreme tourism through the slums.

The problem is that there are stupid decisions that almost ruin the movie. For example, Paul insists in shouting the name of Chris in a dangerous location. Or leave traumatized Natalie alone while they go to his a boy. Anyway, the story and the performances are not bad. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Chernobyl"

Saying a movie is predictable is like saying a movie has a beginning, middle and end. Most movies, no matter the genre are predictable these days. Very few are super unique. I DO NOT think Chernobyl Diaries is predictable. With that being said; I enjoyed the movie a lot, I jumped, I wasn't bored at all! At one point I actually had to sit at the edge of the couch. Sometimes it felt like I was there with them. I feel that the director definitely executed the idea that the writers seen in their mind. I'm disappointed that the average rating is 5.0 because MANY people come to IMDb to check a rating before they watch a movie and the 5.0 will most likely deter them and they will miss out. I strongly recommend it to people that want to sit back and have a good scare.