I had no idea Cloverfield would be such an awesome movie. Like many people, I was intrigued by the early trailers for the film, but I never saw the movie in theaters. I knew it was shot using handheld cameras and there were a lot of complaints about the movie making people dizzy, so I decided to hold off until the DVD was released. After having watched the movie, I’ve been singing the praises of this brilliant an inventive movie to everyone I know.

Cloverfield is a monster movie. It was conceived by J.J. Abrams, who created the TV shows Alias and Lost. In an interview in the DVD special features, Abrams says that he and his son were in Japan looking at toy stores and he kept seeing Godzilla toys everywhere. This game him the idea to do an American monster movie like Godzilla, and this movie is the result. It’s about a Godzilla-like attack on Manhattan Island.

The movie begins without any opening credits, but instead shows some odd-looking screens which make the video seem like it is Department of Defense evidence from some kind of incident. It even identifies the tape as having been found in the area formerly known as ‘Central Park’. Yeah, it does kind of borrow the whole ‘found tape’ thing from The Blair Witch Project, but it still works for the movie.

For the first twenty minutes, it’s just a bunch of people talking at a party. The main character is leaving the next day for Japan because he got some kind of job promotion and is moving there. All of his friends got together and threw him a surprise going-away party, and a lot of the first parts of the movie just involve his friends giving him farewell wishes. As the conversations go on, we find out a little bit of drama about a girl that the main guy might have been seeing, and she ends up leaving the party early after a brief argument.

Even though nothing happens in those first 20 minutes, the material is actually quite interesting. The dialogue comes across very natural and it seems just like a laid back party. However, you as the viewer will watch all of this with a sense of impending doom, because you know something really bad is about to happen. Once it starts, it never lets up all the way until the credits roll. This is one seriously intense movie.

The party is interrupted by what they all think is some kind of earthquake, so the party people all go up on the roof to see what has happened. Suddenly, in the background there is a huge explosion and burning debris starts raining down on everything. The people all leave the building and run out into the street, where another thunderous explosion sends the head off the Statue of Liberty bouncing down the street, and Lady Liberty has giant teeth marks on her face. The people all look off in the distance and see something very big moving amid the smoke, then it tackles and brings down the Empire State Building.

What happens after that is what makes the movie so much fun to watch, because everything is a surprise. You don’t know any more about what is happening than the characters do, and you get to ride along on their harrowing journey thanks to the guy with the video camera. Their goal is for the main guy to go back and get his old girlfriend from her apartment after she calls to tell him she is hurt and cannot move. The problem is that her apartment is in the area where the monster is knocking buildings over, stomping tanks, and eating people.

I will admit that the shaky camerawork thing can be annoying at times, but it works for the movie. It gives the whole thing a documentary type feel, like you are watching some reporter try to deliver a story while under heavy fire in a combat zone. I also liked that the characters actually used the camera for more than just a recording device, like when they needed its external light and night vision capability while trying to pass through the dark subways. I also think the camerawork is easier on the eyes when viewed at home on TV as opposed to a giant movie theater screen.

There’s just not enough good things I can say about this movie. It is well-acted, much of which was ad-libbed, and the special effects are friggin’ awesome. The producers of this movie did a great job of keeping the whole thing secret until it was released, and it ended up being a huge box office hit. A sequel is already in the works, and I will definitely be going to see it. Cloverfield is a must-see movie.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older