Got what I paid for and expected

Rating: 9/10 (26 January 2008)

Right off the bat - I liked this movie. A lot. There are very few movies that pull me in as well as this one, where my brain doesn't analyze everything and I just accept what's on the screen and go with it.
The thing people seemed to forget is that the monster is a macguffin. It serves no real purpose except to make the plot happen. The plot focuses more on what people will do for love.
Would you risk your life for the friend you loved? Would you risk your life for the person you think you romantically loved? In uncertainty, do you go with the unknown or with what is at least a little familiar? I'll admit I didn't like most of the characters. I didn't like 20-somethings like that when I WAS in that age group. But watching what they would do for each other when things were at their worst was much more important than liking them.
I'm not familiar with JJ Abrams, Lost, or anything else he's really worked on, as far as I know, but if it's like this, I'm sure I'm missing out.
The film stuck with me, and entertained me. And it didn't make me feel nauseated. It had good tension, which yes, was telegraphed in some situations in order to make the audience tense.
It had some surprises.
If you are going, expecting a re-enactment of the standard "Giant Monster smashes a city" plot, you're going to be disappointed. That's not the plot at all (and I never thought it would be). If you're looking for a good movie that tests the characters and what they would be willing to do for each other, this movie is the one.