An Amazing Interactive Experience

Rating: 7/10 (19 January 2008)

The scariest part about Cloverfield is not its monster, but its realism. Casting a bunch of unknowns to be witnesses of the monster's wrath was a brilliant idea; both that and the camera footage added to the movie's believability. I've heard some reviewers criticize the "acting". I think they're missing the point. This movie isn't about that, and making millions of people believe a terror is raging Manhattan through dialogue does take some sort of skill.
If you're reading the review you know the story: a bunch of twenty-somethings are holding a party to see their pal off on his new job in Japan when something straight out of Japanese cinema rudely interrupts their celebration. The scenes before the monster do feel a little forced; the screenwriter's desperation to make his characters more authentic shows in the first twenty minutes of screen time. The actors do their best with the direction and script, but the party almost feels like the homework you need to finish but rush through so you can go watch television.
Yet the first few minutes are pivotal. While slightly one-dimensional (Rob is stubborn, Hud is the comedian, etc.), the interaction of the characters does set the entire movie in motion. Listen to all the conversations closely and you'll be even more impacted by the movie's ending.
And a few booms, crashes, and explosions later, our twenty-somethings are scrambling through the streets of New York, trying to find a way out of the perilous wasteland our monster has created. Most likely you'll be frustrated by the characters' inability to have common sense in an emergency--the most cliché part about the film.
However, the cinematic experience entirely compensates for the stupidity of the characters. You will the notice the difference between a true Hollywood film and JJ Abrams' creations. Something...gets you about seeing CGI characters on homemade, crappy quality, REALISTIC footage. The moving camera did make some people nauseous, but for me the cameraman should have been nominated for an Oscar since it added to the chaos quite well. By the third BOOM I was in almost as much confusion and panic as the people on screen--and I liked it.
The movie's gritty reality--in contrast to its overblown, often ostentatious genre--was what captivated me. Cloverfield was made on a budget of 25 million, and I was 10000 times more into it than I Am Legend. Making anyone satisfied is the least of Abrams' priorities; all the horror film and monster movie clichés--INCLUDING THE MONSTER--crash and burn like the decapitated Statue of Liberty. Horror and thriller cinema needed a shock to the system, and this is it.
The ending is expectedly unexpected, but appropriate. It doesn't matter what it would have been because the audience would have applauded anyway.
P.S. Stay after the credits.