Exploring: Cloverfield
Review of: Cloverfield
Overall Rating: 7.5 C
I sat down to watch a good monster flick. My expectations were reasonable for a monster movie: A Big Monster rampaging a city, Military trying to stop it, citizens running from it. As the movie loaded I got a great laugh at the parental guidance screen because it promised me Violence, Terror & Disturbing Images. This was funny to me because that was exactly what I was expecting from the film and it gave me hope that it might deliver.
Cloverfield is a nice monster film that delivers terror disturbing images and lots of violence. The story is told from a first person view point which makes it more compelling. I love how we actually get to go through a monster film where the monster is rampaging in the background and impacting the story line but only in a more random manner. This would have been an awesome film but the camera technique, though compelling and adds a lot to the suspense was too jarring.
Likes
The first person viewpoint way of telling the story.
The suspense that is maintained
The confusion and terror is really conveyed through the filming style with us having only a limited view.
The way the monster is handled and I mean in all of it's parts it's vague because I don't want to give away a nice surprise
Keeping the focus actually on the personal story and quest of the main character Rob.
I love that there is no explanation for the Monster. No reason where it came from or why it was doing it's random things. After the film watch some of the special features they do explain some of the monsters background and motivations there.
The riderless carriage shot: nice touch, nice symbolism
Dislikes / Concerns
The shaky camera: Though it added to the experience it shook so much I could not have watched it in the theater without Dramamine. I was pulled out of the experience of the film and the tension was broken at several instances when I had to just look away because of the over shaky camera. If they would have left some of it in but toned it down a bit more they could have conveyed the same feel and believability without giving the audience motion sickness.
The creature is a little goofy looking when you finally get to see it, and the other parts looks like something out of starship troopers.
The constant references to terrorism in the beginning & setting it in New York felt like a cheep shot to me.
The defiant military guy that was too helpful and breached orders in a moment of crisis was too hackneyed.
The Rambo effect of the characters was a little annoying: a girl gets impaled through the shoulder on rebar and is able to run for many more hours through the film.
The set up was way too long: it introduced too many people that were not necessary and never come up again. I wonder how many viewers get bored and turn the movie off before the first attack.
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