Awesome...well kind of

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2008)

I would love to say that this movie is awesome...but I can't. It's without a doubt very good but the film still has some killer downfalls.
Seen through a hand-held camera from start to finish, a group of teenagers are throwing a going-away party for their buddy Rob. But the party is crashed after a monster devastates Manhattan and gives it one rude awakening.
Many people had problems with the camera, but I have to say, I think most of the people are wimps. The camera can do a good deal of shaking, especially when the characters are running, but the fact that a whole bunch of people have thrown up is completely ridiculous and just means that they are sensitive to even the slightest movement. I liked the camera work a lot; it gave a great sense of realism and had me interested the whole way through, even in the boring 15 minutes that the movie opens with. My only complaint with the camera is that it occasionally cuts a couple of minutes ahead at times where Hudson is forced to put the camera down, so you may miss some of the action.
The horror element is pulled off really well; the camera work makes it really scary because it seems very real. Some of the images are very shocking, but not the monster. You never really see the monster up close and personal until the end, in which its not very intimidating. But it does a great deal of damage to the city and its most terrifying when you can't see it entirely.
The characters are done almost entire realistically. Their mission through out the movie isn't entirely convincing when you think about it, but their behavior, facial expressions, reactions, and emotions all seem entirely human, which a lot of movies cannot convey for the story's sake. But with this movie it's done really well.
So far I've given my props as to why I think its awesome, and I make it sound awesome, but it isn't. The first fifteen minutes are technically boring, but the camera immerses you. The ending is also very disappointing; its extremely abrupt and there is no resolution at all. This leaves you wanting more, wanting closure, wanting to know how the story ends. I'm really hoping for a sequel because there is so much more to know in the movie, and without resolution, the whole movie itself seems kind of pointless.
One last positive note: I really liked the humor in this movie. The movie doesn't try to be funny, the humor is just like real-life humor, and it can provide good laughs.
While there is much to give praise to in this movie, there is no ending to it and the fact that the camera makes you miss some of the action and suspense really hurts the movie. It had all the potential to be great if there were some kind of resolution, but it just doesn't happen. I do recommend it, although most folks won't like the ending of the movie. 7.5/10