Review: ‘Cloverfield’

Zac:

The hype began with the excellent teaser on Transformers and the film delivers on pretty much every level. An excellent monster/disaster flick, the film is fast, fun, and fairly unpredictable.

We start off with the morning after a romantic encounter between Rob and Beth, being filmed by Rob on his camcorder, as they begin to set out on a day at Coney Island. Jump ahead a month as the tape cuts out and we see Rob’s brother, Jason, playing with the camera as he follows his girlfriend Lily up a set of stairs setting up the going away party for Rob as he leaves for Japan after a promotion.

Jason quickly hands the filming duties over to there buddy Hud who takes testimonials all night in between trying to attempt to hit on Marlena, a friend of Lily’s. We quickly find that Rob and Beth have since been estranged and they get into it a bit in the apartment hallway. As Hud and Jason try to get the story out of Rob, an earthquake and brief blackout rock Manhattan. The party goes to the roof to try and get a look at the possible cause of the disturbance in the harbor when a giant explosion starts the mayhem and it never stops.

I will tell no more, and I have spoiled nothing that wasn’t in the preview and all of this wraps up within the first fifteen minutes of the film. The film is told in pretty much real time with a couple of gaps missing for obvious reasons, we don’t need to watch these people climb 50 flights of stairs, and moves at a lightning pace. The movies style is to tell the story from the perspective of the hand held video camera the entire time, putting us right in there with group while also capturing the energy and craziness of the groups trek through Manhattan.

The movie keeps you constantly entertained as the monster encounters the group at almost every turn. Coming out of nowhere and surprising the hell out of you the monster itself is a sort of enigma throughout, never getting a really good look at it as it weaves in and out of the streets and buildings of Manhattan, but we get more than enough to wet our appetite.

Another thing that really helps the film is that Hud, who is our documentarian of the events, is very funny at times. The comedy works really well and helps lighten things up and lets us remember not to take things so seriously; and also lets us know the filmmakers realize this is a giant monster movie.

And, that is what you need to remember when you see it, its about a monster destroying a city. Sure it’s silly, but it’s fun, and this movie does everything with great quality, but is just trying to have fun. The special effects are top notch and the monster itself is a weird creature and is unlike anything we have seen before.

Cloverfield is nothing more than a monster movie and that is just fine, because it’s not trying to be anything more. It does what it’s trying to do very well, excels at entertaining, and delivers thrills, laughs, and scares throughout the blister 90min’s of film. If you were at all interested, definitely check this out, as it is the first great popcorn movie of the year, and while it doesn’t reinvent the movies, it is quality entertainment for your hard earned dollar.

(4 roars out of 5)

Travis:

01-18-08: J.J. Abrams is really starting to get my attention. He serves as producer for Cloverfield, but has added his talent and unique flair to many projects as writer and/or director in both movies and television as well. From his beginnings in TV working on Alias and Lost to the current smash Cloverfield and the future begins with his Star Trek due out around Christmas 2008. Speaking of which, the audience gets their first teaser glimpse of Star Trek preceeding the start of Cloverfield. Not a surprise, as Abrams produced this wonderfully geek-tastic new take on the ginormous monster flick, which he himself has dubbed “a true American monster movie.”

Darnit! As much as I want to ramble on about the oddly unique and wierd creature design of the monster which appears in Cloverfield, I will reluctantly refrain from spoiling it for any who have not yet seen the movie. This goes against my very nature, as I grew up on and am perhaps obsessed with movie monsters of all types. However, the truth is that the monster is not the central character. “What?!?!?” you exclaim. You may be furious, confused, shocked, distraught or even baffled. Yes, it is true. This is a major factor in why this movie rocks.

Let us briefly conduct a small science project. First, take Godzilla from the American version (bare with me), but remove the cheesy back story and attempted scientific explanations, along with any actor you’ve ever heard of; then keep Manhattan and the military, but substitute a familiar monster with a whole new creature the likes you’ve never seen and still don’t quite understand; now… (are you still with me?) blend this with the camera and storytelling techniques of The Blair Witch Project and on the most basic level you have Cloverfield.

Hope I didn’t lose anyone there. In short, Cloverfield is a psychological horror movie about two characters who are seperated and must struggle to reunite. Believe me, it works. The monster… yeah, it’s in there as well, but only enough to carry the story along. I think, other than the creature design, what struck my fancy the most is how well the filmmakers pulled this off while maintaining the mock-cinema verite’ style of footage captured on a handheld camcorder by regular citizens. Seriously, you really never get turned off by the often disorienting camera movement. I do, however, warn those with weak stomachs to prepare. No, there is hardly any gore, but I do recall several stories of people getting sick while watching The Blair Witch Project.

(4 out of 5)

Scott:

So, Last night we hit the midnight cloverfield premier in Saint Louis and I fully intended to write this last night, but I am old and lame so naturally I fell asleep when I got home.

Basically the movie is every bit worth all of the non-stop viral marketing we have seen, but some of it now doesnt make any sense.

It starts off just as you have seen in the first 5 minutes on the net, at the party having a great time until an “earthquake” happens. Then everyone wants to know whats going on so they venture out into the streets, and its at this point that you first get a glimpse of the monster.

I didnt think that I would like the handycam view, but after watching the movie it couldn’t have been shot any other way and pull it off. Despite the shakiness, it wasn’t that bad (unless you are themovieblog.com and got “sea sick” by the end) and easily viewable. This shooting makes you feel like you are actually there, it sucks you in. At a few points I actually felt anxiety like it was all happening to me. It was very exciting, told a great story and is well worth whatever you pay for it, and whatever hour in the night you decide to watch it. I wont spoil the movie for you, but this is the next great American Monster Franchise. Go see it!

(4 out of 5)