Disappointing and misleading

Rating: 6/10 (11 March 2016)

The original Cloverfield was a good shaky-cam, found footage Kaiju film, almost like an American Godzilla. This, however, didn't live up to the name. I just found out this was originally to be titled 'The Cellar' and really it should have stayed as such.
Going into it with the name leaves many events predictable. There are no direct ties to Cloverfield, and the ending almost feels tacked on. It almost feels as if they had a good suspense-thriller. Then they added elements of Cloverfield in an unrelated location to increase revenue. John Goodman's acting really did improve this movie considerably, though. It wasn't bad, per se, just a let down.
My date and I decided it would have been better watched at home. I think if you have not seen Cloverfield, this would be a better standalone. However, it is still only matinée-worthy at best.