Cloverfield
Directed by Matt Reeves
Starring Michael Stahl-David, T.J. Miller, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan, Mike Vogel, and Odette Yustman.
Backstory
Like a lot of people, my first exposure to Cloverfield was that trailer in front of Transformers that made us all go “What the hell was that?” I didn’t follow much of the viral websites or idle internet speculation, but once I learned it was about a giant monster, I was there. I do so love giant monster movies. So I took some anti-nausea pills and went to the theatre!
Plot
So Rob got this new job in Japan and his brother and all his friends are throwing him this massive good-bye party. Also there is Beth. Beth and Rob have been, like, friends forever, and they just slept together, and they’re all angst-filled as to where their relationship is right now. Beth winds up leaving in a huff. And then, this giant monster attacks New York and all Hell breaks loose. When Rob gets a desperate phone call from Beth, Rob decides to head into the heart of the battle to rescue her. He’s accompanied by his best friend Hud, who films the whole thing on his video camera, and a ragtag group of party-goers. I’m sure you know the whole gimmick by now…the film is made up of Hud’s footage.
What I Liked
Of course, the images of the monster haven’t been released yet. And when I did see it, I thought it was…beautiful! It’s a great monster. It’s dark and scary when it needs to be, and there’s some great jokes to break the tension. “My God, YOU know Superman? That’s amazing! Are you aware of Garfield?” And that’s a SPECTACULAR piece of original music during the end credits.
What I Didn’t Like
Like a lot of giant monster movies, it actually gets really slow when the giant monster isn’t doing damage. And I get this hunch that it’ll fall apart the more and more you watch it.
Final Assessment
A worthy addition to the giant monster movie genre.