Cloverfield Review

So, a week ago I saw Cloverfield. Then, I saw it again on Tuesday. That should let you know how much I liked the movie.

The movie had such a huge amoutn of hype surrounding in the middle of last year. That "mysterious trailer" everybody remembers stirred the pot for a seriously huge movie. And I feel it lived up to its hype.

The film centers around a group of partygoers in Manhattan who are thrown into the middle of a monster attack. That's...pretty much it. The film is made from the perspective of a handheld camera one of the characters in holding, creating a realistic (if not occasionally nauseating) viewpoint. I'd say it perfectly captures the hectic and panicked nature of the horrendous violence surrounding them.

The characters act like real people. There are a couple of big cliches, such as the central character's love affair with his college sweetheart and his subsequent selfless rescue mission. Some of the dialoge was overused and occasionally hackneyed, but since when have real people been completely cliche-less? You actually feel for the characters.

The violence in this film is fantastic and the cinematography captures such an amazing amount of breathtaking shots. The visual effects are no less than Oscar-worthy.

One thing this movie does is succeed at what a particular monster/disaster movie failed at. This movie just kept reminding me of the Tom Cruise War of the Worlds, just more focused and entertaining. I really loved Cloverfield. I did not expect it to be so good. One word of advice, however- see it with a crowd or on a huge screen. It wouldn't be a good movie to see on DVD unless you have one of the absolute best home theater systems out there. It's a once in a lifetime experience. Don't wait. See it now.

87/100