Only 2200 Reviews Ahead Of Me! But I'll Still Write Something

Rating: 7/10 (6 February 2018)

Cloverfield, in short, is shot like a "found footage" documentary and follows a group of friends around Manhattan during a monster invasion.
Still interested? Read on. It's New York City, the site of many disasters (both imagined and real, unfortunately). One can assume that the events we are about to witness happened at some point in the past, because we're watching a video seized by the Department of Defense. The footage, recovered from an "area formerly known as Central Park", is clearly taken from a camera once owned by a young couple. We know this because we see them, on video, before and during the day of the invasion.
The couple attend a going away party for a mutual friend who is moving to Japan. It's at the party where we meet the cast of characters who later become the video journalists when the real fun begins. The building shakes, there's a power-outage lasting a few seconds, and there's a report on TV about a possible earthquake. Seems harmless, right? Like some giddy school children, the cameraman and his buddies head up to the roof to get a better look at a foundering ship spilling oil into the Hudson River. That's when all hell breaks loose. Luckily, they bring the camera along for the wild ride.
And so begins director Matt Reeves's ode to big scary monsters. Think of the videos you've seen on the news of war photographers running for their lives, all the while continuing to record. That's what Cloverfield is like except no one is dodging enemy fire; here it's giant bug-things they're running from. The "found-footage" genre of filmmaking isn't new, not even when Cloverfield was made 10-years ago. It's actually kind of lame, too. However, when I first saw this movie in 2008 I enjoyed it. Who doesn't appreciate seeing an apocalyptic monster invasion? They are magnificent!
Cloverfield is a good action, sci-fi, horror film that's fun to watch, even if the camera work is a little too jarring at times. I like how the movie uses very little CGI (but when CGI is used, it's excellent) and relies mostly on creative, budget-friendly filmmaking. Loud monster noises, blood-curdling screams, and one's own imagination fuel the fright. Think Jaws (1975): you knew there was something scary out there, but you couldn't see it. Everyone fears what they can't see.
Check out 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) and Netflix's The Cloverfield Paradox (2018). All three movies are related.