Does anyone even remember 1998's Godzilla? Didn't think so. After all the hype on that flick, including teaser-trailers a year before the movie was even released, Godzilla stormed the multiplexes and left a bad taste in many mouths. There hasn't been a monster-attacking-a-major-city-movie in quite some time. King Kong doesn't count, he's a big ape.
Now we have Cloverfield, a film that can best be described as "The Blair Witch Project to the 25th Power". If done right though, that's not a bad thing. I feel that Cloverfield was done right.
PLOT
Rob Hawkins is going to Japan for work. His family and friends throw him a surprise going-away party. While drinking it up and partying the night away in New York City, an attack happens and everyone begins to run for their lives from a rather large creature. I'm sure this was not the going-away party Rob had in mind.
ACTING
Michael Stahl-David does well as the lead, Rob. Certain events take place and the way he reacts to them are very believable. Mike Vogel plays Rob's brother Jason. He's pretty laid back and that works for the character. Jessica Lucas fills the role of Lily, Jason's woman. Lucas gives one of the stronger performances here. Odette Yustman plays Beth, Rob's friend who he's been secretly in love with for a loooooong time. Their chemistry is very good. T.J. Miller plays Hud, Rob's best friend. I have to say that Miller was probably the weakest link here, even though he provided my best line for the review. Lizzy Caplan plays Marlena, Hud's crush. She's pretty good.
WRITING & DIRECTING
Drew Goddard wrote Cloverfield and kept things pretty simple, but effective. The best thing about it all is that their is no explanation on where this monster has come from. The story is being told from the perspective of people just trying to survive. Some of the dialogue feels forced at times, but not enough to really hurt the film.
It's kind of hard to critique the directing here, because the entire film is shot from a video camera, a la Blair Witch. Matt Reeves directed and kept the film moving at all times. There are a couple of clear shots of the monster but they keep it hidden for the most part, which is better. I mean, these people are running for their lives, they don't really have too much time to keep the camera still for more than a few seconds. In fact, the first attack is very reminiscent of 9/11, with people running from clouds of smoke from fallen buildings. Pretty eerie.
I was tense for most of the film. The concept of shooting the film the way they did brought a fresh approach to this type of flick. The subway sequence was probably one of the scariest scenes. My favorite scene has to be when they're just walking in the quiet street, the monster pops up, and all of a sudden the army comes out of nowhere, shooting guns, missiles, and tanks for a good couple of minutes. It was so loud in the theatre. I said to myself, "Very niiice."
Now, if you are one of the people that disliked Blair Witch, and I know there are many of you, I would recommend staying away from this flick. The camera shakes...a lot. If you have a tendency to get dizzy from handheld camera work, I repeat, stay away from this flick!
Personally, I would have ended the film in the helicopter, you'll know what I'm talking about if and when you see it. That is one intense sequence. As a whole though, Cloverfield kept my interest throughout and has become a nice entry into the monster-movie genre.
Overall Review: *** stars
Best Line:
Miller: Uh, Rob, this store is closed man.
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