Try to understand what you're watching, or you won't have a good time.

Rating: 8/10 (21 February 2008)

It's a shame that some people weren't aware that the entire film was from the perspective of an SD card from a handy-cam. Too many found themselves hating the film for this reason, and then decidedly getting angry at every other aspect as a result.
Firstly, I must make the point that this is a film for theatres. If you wanna watch it online, I'm guessing it won't be as good. The home video aspect of this film doesn't detract from the big screen experience whatsoever, but hand-in-hand with youtube quality? I foresee a bad time.
People have been slating characters' decisions. Why follow a crazy man on his plight to rescue his true love? Well, there's Lily, who just lost her true love, so I can understand her will to help save the true love of her true love's brother! Marlena is really only tagging along for Lily. That's barely excusable, but considering her option to either help people she knows, or try to evacuate with strangers, it's a pretty honourable thing to do. Hud is Rob's best friend, so it's pretty much the same excuse as Marlena, whom he has the hots for (plus, no cameraman = no film).
You can take what you like from this, but I'm still driving the fact that 2 of the 4 had undeniable reason to go, and the other two were best friends of the first two, with understandable alternatives.
Some people have said it's an alien attack. It isn't. And if it is, it certainly didn't land in New York (see the tagruato sonar images of the monster approaching the city). It came by sea. That's Godzilla's excuse, so points deducted on unoriginality. And in regards to people mocking the monster for the fact that it'll never make as good a toy as the G-Beast, I'd like to put forth my idea that it was never intended to be. Where Godzilla has dinosaur-esquire coolness and a penchant for defending Japan, this creature is a vile Monstrosity. There's as much plush selling power here as a Cthulhu. Then again, I have seen a plush Cthulhu on sale. I'd assume this was more of a cult-classic thing than a something-Junior-will-cuddle-in-bed thing.
Marlena's extraction from the scene due to the bite... No, she's not shot by the military; she explodes. It's horrible, I know, but that's what happens. I feel sorry not only for Hud, but also for the guys in the radiation suits that pulled her behind the shower curtain.
The evident echoes of the 9/11 attacks are as present as the shout outs to Godzilla, but should not be something to dislike the film for. If anything, the realistic shooting of Cloverfield enabled audience empathy for those involved. I consider this film to have moved me more in such a way than if it were to be Emmerich's Godzilla 2. Here's where I admit that I enjoy Emmerich's Godzilla as the family-fun romp it is. It's the Home Alone of monster movies! Back to Cloverfield.
It's not 9/11, it's not Godzilla, and it isn't Blair Witch. It has echoes of the first two, but that's part of the film's overall target effect. To say it's like Blair Witch would be like to say Kevin Smith's Clerks is like Casablanca because they're both filmed in Black and White.
I can see the resemblance between the critters in Cloverfield and creatures from Starship Troopers; another point is lost on unoriginality. And the weird voices they made detracted from the scariness of the situation in the subway. I usually stay for the end of the credits for a film I like. A commenter before me made the point that 75% of the audience around him stayed for the credits, and suggested it was the most negative reaction to a movie ever, for which I'm slightly disappointed. But there must have been people like me in that 75% who stayed because they enjoyed it.
Said commenter then ended by saying that fans of this film such as myself are deluded and "will have spent the last year or more pumping this movie for JJ Abrams and will be unable to admit to themselves or you that it is simply not good." I retort that I didn't 'pump' this movie, and found it a very good experience, even with my usual spitefully analytical view of films that try new things. Mr Abrams won me over with this film , even though it had me on the verge of motion sickness.
How Beth survived the impaling rod, and then a helicopter-crash, I will never know.
Finally, the party drama that kicked the film off: It was a worthy attempt at introducing and developing characters, and was a friendly introduction to the filming style. Were we instantly thrown into the shaking action, we'd be annoyed at the lack of heads-up! Speaking of which, I loved naming of Hud (heads-up display. Ha.) We don't need to know what Rob's new Job entails. We don't really need to know that he's becoming Vice President, either, except that that shows it as being a job worthy to leave NY for Japan. Hud's attempts to talk with Marlena are amusing, mainly because our introduction to him doesn't exactly present the most attractive of guys, and his insistence on filming her so much shows an infantile fascination for her. It's pathetic and amusing, but also sweet, and brilliantly acted.
I have many more points that I'd love to comment on, but I feel that I've outstayed my welcome.
In conclusion, please see this movie if you're interested in film, and are aware that it's 84 minutes of what you saw in the trailer. It's incredibly well done, and includes top-tier acting, spectacularly edited visuals, comedy, tragedy, and a beautiful love story (albeit recorded over).
...And please don't make a sequel.