It is worth noting that I haven’t seen this movie since I saw it in theaters all those years ago. This movie led to two indirect sequels, “10 Cloverfield Lane” and “The Cloverfield Paradox”. Of the three, I definitely recommend “10 Cloverfield Lane” the most due to a truly amazing performance by John Goodman. You can avoid “The Cloverfield Paradox” altogether.
There are better found footage films out there than this one, but you could also do a lot worse.
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| A giant monster attacks New York City in "Cloverfield". |
THE ORIGINAL REVIEW
When the first trailer hit the theaters and the web for “Cloverfield” (which did not even have a title at the time), it peaked the curiosity of moviegoers everywhere. It also generated a hype that it may not live up to. The film does have some flaws, but ultimately it is a wild ride that does a good job of breaking in the New Year.
“Cloverfield” starts out with five young friends throwing one of their best friends a going away party before he leaves for Japan on business. Before the party really gets going, however, a giant monster decides to attack New York and the six friends must do everything they can to escape the Big Apple.
The movie is a standard monster movie, but the twist is that the film’s story is told as if it were a tape found in Central Park (designated “Cloverfield”, hence the title). I could not help but to think of this film as “The Blair Witch Project” meets “Godzilla”. The style both works for the film at times but also hinders it at times as well.
The way it helps the movie is that it does give the film a certain “Oh, s**t” quality that really lends itself to some truly creepy moments including one where the survivors are in a subway tunnel.
The film’s actors are also surprisingly strong. Their characters may be a little flat, but the actors do the best with what they got. Another good thing was the monster. The filmmakers truly created an original monster that I was relieved to see did not simply resemble Godzilla or a dinosaur.
While the film was good for the most part, it does have its share of problems. As I mentioned before, the film’s found footage narrative works for the action scenes. The problem with this narrative is that we have little to no character development. We’re supposed to learn about these characters at the party, but there is little time for that.
The found footage narrative also leads to an ending that is a bit of an anticlimactic let down.
“Cloverfield” has a few flaws which may ultimately disappoint moviegoers who were into the hype surrounding the movie. Still, it is a decent start to the new year and it does its job of getting the audience ready for the big hits that will be released later this Summer.
