It lived up to the hype!

Rating: Null/10 (17 January 2008)

**No direct spoilers here, but the review might possibly spoil some of the general plot outline if you have been under a rock and haven't seen any of the marketing
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I loved it from start to finish! (Except the first 5mins of camera shake can be painful)
I had high hopes for Cloverfield and was worried it wouldn't live up to all the hype, but i'm glad to say that it does....for me at least!
It wasn't your usual "America saves the day" cheesy monster flick we've come to expect. Yes it's obviously set in New York, but that's not really important. You get so immersed into the film that you feel like you're there amongst it and the only things you're worried about are the people you're with and your own safety. You really don't care so much what the thing looks like or where it came from... all you know is it's not friendly and you need to get out...alive.
Usually I find things to complain about in these types of movies, like bad special effects, poor acting, unbelievably convenient circumstances, disappointing endings and cheesy lines or sub plots etc (eg: Transformers "Are you the Tooth Fairy?"..urgh)
I could not find anything to complain about in Cloverfied. The effects were seamless, the acting realistic, the hinted love sub-plots and hair-raising situations are believable, the ending well done and there was no cheesiness or in-your-face American patriotism.
This movie is more intense than scary. There are a few scary moments and visually disturbing scenes though. Once the action begins, you are on the edge of your seat until the end.
I fully recommend it.
....
I've read some comments where people are complaining that the camera battery lasts for too long. At first I also questioned it, but then realised the period of time was a little deceiving...
The movie plays in real-time, so the camera wasn't actually on for as long as it seemed, it was only on for about an 90mins all up, which was the length of the movie. It was switched off for long periods in between the action.