Much, much better than expected

Rating: 6/10 (11 June 2008)

After seeing the trailer and hearing the initial wave of so-so reviews, this movie seemed sure to be a disappointment. Also, one had to wonder if the "top secret" promotion of the film prior to its release was just the studio's marketing department trying to disguise a poor film as long as possible.
Gladly, none of my fears were realized. Cloverfield lived up to the hype. The plot involves the documentation of a Godzilla-like attack on NYC, shown with realism through a hand-held video camera. Many have said it's Blair Witch meets Godzilla. That seems a bit of an over-simplification, but works as a good basic description. The challenge of depicting a large-scale action/disaster/sci-fi movie through the tiny lens of a video camera is daunting, but executed quite well here. Many will question plot elements and say, "Well, a hand-held camera can't... Why wouldn't you drop the camera when... The camera would break if...". Yes, a certain suspension of disbelief is necessary for the home-video concept to work. That's why it's a film and not reality.
Ultimately, Cloverfield doesn't bring much original to the monster-movie genre in terms of special effects, plot or character development. Despite this, the hand-held camera realism is enough to make it unique and well worth watching.