Top-notch 21st century monster flick

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2008)

I was really looking forward to this movie, and it didn't disappoint me a bit. It's got everything I hoped for: an original monster, a breathtaking pace, genuine shocks and scares, some poignancy, some mystery, and absolutely no snarky condescension or cheesiness. This is a stripped-down, kick-ass dynamo of a movie experience unlike any giant creature flick I've ever seen, and I've been watching them since the 70s. It takes a little time to set up and get rolling, but once it's out of the gate it doesn't let up for a moment. The use of the hand-held camera gives it terrific immediacy and believability, since we see only as much of the creature and its rampage as the characters underfoot do. They're a pretty typical batch of well-heeled kids, used to getting immediate information on everything, and when they're suddenly plunged into violent chaos they react with terror and confusion. Yet despite that, they attempt a heroic rescue, acting with the kind of courage ordinary people show in the face of disaster every day. (Yes, some sequences do evoke the imagery of 9-11, but I wish people would quit sounding so indignant about that; surely it's off the sacred list and into the pool of legitimate film topics by now. The Cloverfield/9-11 = Godzilla/Hiroshima analogy ought to be enough to settle the point.) I liked them a lot more than I expected to (in fact I completely choked up when one character had to give his mom some very bad news) and felt completely pulled into the headlong rush of the story. It's as convincing a portrait of an event like this as I can imagine, and will leave you gasping for breath. I only have two credibility quibbles, in fact: the overly-helpful soldier and the apparent army of available helicopters. But those are minor. [[--I'm not going to say anything about the monster, except that it's none of the things people have been speculating it was, it's 100% cool, and I can't wait for the action figure.]] --I can't imagine anyone who really loves daikaiju cinema being disappointed with this: it's a fine, scary piece of work. Too nihilistic? Could be, but these are dark times, and we already know this film was intended to mirror the right-now dread and tension of our War on Terror landscape. There's no reassurance from those in power, the military doesn't know any more than the characters do, and all you get in return for facing the worst is the close-up rush of the adventure. Which, after all, may be all you ever get.