A gripping and surprisingly immersing movie.

Rating: 9/10 (5 June 2008)

Cloverfield is one of those rare films that takes one type of movie formula and puts a unique spin on the whole experience. In Cloverfield's case, the unique spin is in the film's presentation and perspective. The film, which centers around a group of young adults trying to survive a monster's rampage throughout New York City, is told through a first-person, or documentary-style, perspective (think of films like 'Blair Witch Project). This might sound a bit stupid to some people, and some will find this film to be stupid, but for me and many others the doc-style perspective really draws you into the film like the way something like, say, Star Wars did when you were little. The survivors struggle throughout the movie seems a whole lot more realist thanks to the perspective.
To be honest, the doc-style perspective will either make or break this movie for you. Given that the younger generation of people will probably embrace this film given that this type of presentation is familiar to them, people used to tradition prespectives might have a hard time getting into this film.
While some might disagree, I believe that if Cloverfield decided to go with the traditional methods and stuck to old-style camera technique's, this film would have nothing going for it. The movie's story won't win any awards for originality, and the monster didn't exhibit any qualities we haven't seen before (that is, if you've seen movies like Godzilla, Aliens, The Thing, you get the idea). If this was just any other sci-fi 'monster on the lose' film made from by-the-book rules, you probably wouldn't have heard about this movie The main focus of the film is drawing you into the experiences of the characters. The acting in the film is quite good, and the choice to go with no-name actors was a no-brainer. Whenever something happens to a character, it strikes a cord like no other film has done in a long time.
One thing about this movie is that it dose not pack a whole lot of power on a small screen. I had the privilege of watch this film on a huge T.V. screen on DVD with a few of my friends, but after watching this film, I started to wonder whether or not this film would have been as good if I had saw it by myself on a small screen by myself.
All in all, this film is something to behold. Even though the movie by itself lacks a lot of originality, the documentary style perspective really draws you in and makes all the movie's used elements seem serious and engaging. Just be sure to watch it with a group of friends on a large screen.