Movie Review - “Cloverfield”
*** STARS
It is too obvious to call “Cloverfield” a mix between “Godzilla” and “The Blair Witch Project”. That may have been the pitch during the initial planning stages of this film, but I think “Cloverfield” stands alone in the creature feature genre. Every piece of this film is dripping with creativity and originality. “Cloverfield” is not your average monster movie, this film has got some brains and genuine laughs.
A lot of people will avoid this film because they feel the style is just a gimmick, or that the hand held cameras are irritating, but they would be missing out based on those assumptions. “Cloverfield” is at times a realistic and very frightening “popcorn flick”, but the gore level isn’t as high as you would think. A lot of the tension in this film is caused from “the unknown” or what is partially seen. But don’t worry, you get to see a lot of the monster!
“Cloverfield” runs under 90 minutes and you become completely enthralled with the action on the screen right away, the pulse pounding escapism is one of its best qualities. The “real time” video camera work done by one of the main characters is gritty and gives the freakishly real special effects the ability to blend into the realistic backgrounds and city neighborhoods being filmed.
The characters in this film are atypical, but the dialog crackles with wit and authenticity. The first few moments of destruction, mayhem and confusion prepare you for the overwhelming non stop action of the last 45 minutes.
Some scenes from “Cloverfield” will most likely remind folks of 9/11, these images add to the emotional punch when we see buildings being toppled over like matchsticks. The most eerie visuals in this movie are the tiny pieces of paper that are falling from the sky after a building collapses, an image we all have become too familiar with.
I personally loved the abrupt ending of this film. It made the film even more believable and shocking then the sappy happy endings of most Hollywood movies. The themes and destructive images in this movie are nothing new, but the mind fuck and scary creature effects make this a classic monster movie for geeks everywhere to rejoice its praises. “Cloverfield” is the first great event picture of 2008 and we still have the summer movie season to look forward to, hooray!
March 27th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
a lot of people complain about the excited camera movement in this movie, but i appreciate the originality of it. Well, mostly original. It still didn’t make people wonder if it was real as effectively as Blair Witch.