An interesting half of a movie

Rating: 5/10 (19 January 2008)

I saw this movie opening night in Australia and had no clue what to expect.
First point - the "home video" concept is interesting and gives the movie a nice feel, but I wish they could have at least kept the video still and level for at least a portion of the film. Even when there was no action going on, the camera was always off-center, angled, or shaking. My girlfriend and I regularly had to look away from the screen just to keep from getting motion sick. The lack of any video stabilization was unnecessary and over-the-top.
Second point - The characters, albeit fairly well-developed, are just plain stupid. The movie makes an attempt to portray the characters as courageous, but the panic-driven story line became very tiresome and predictable. Then again... there wouldn't have been much of a story if the characters made rational decisions.
Third point - unsatisfying movie. Although you get to see what's causing all of the destruction, there is absolutely no closure. You are left to wonder how the story ends, and by the end of the film I really didn't care if a single one of the main characters survived because I felt they all deserved whatever came to them for taking such ridiculous risks.
All in all - not worth my $15 except for the great previews for the upcoming action flicks Jumper and Iron Man.