Didn't live up to the hype

Rating: 1/10 (1 February 2008)

After seeing the viral campaign with extremely well done fake news footage I had high hopes for this movie. I've always been a lover of the monster movie/horror genre...hell I even sort of enjoyed the Godzilla remake despite it's many failings and strong smell of cheese but Cloverfield? well what can I say...
I went into watching this film knowing it was filmed entirely in a shaky "Blair Witch" cam style,but I didn't expect over an hour of motion sickness overkill.
Unless you have taken the time to watch ALL of the viral marketing the first 20 minutes of the film are a COMPLETE waste of time.Don't get me wrong I don't expect any film like this to slap you in the face from minute 1 with monster attacks and carnage but the first 20 minutes would have made much more sense to those going in totally fresh if they would have spliced in some of the back story.Namely the reasons behind the career move and the company he was going to work for,the attack on the oil rig and possibly a teaser news clip before going into the final few minutes of the party and then the attack.
I understand the idea behind having "amateur footage" but the film tries WAY to hard to get that idea over.Seriously I knew full well that it was supposed to be a handy cam after 5 minutes,they didn't need to vaguely wave the camera around every few minutes to get the point across.
Yes this film has been compared to Blair Witch but Blair Witch had something that Cloverfield SERIOUSLY lacks...Ambiance.In Blair Witch even though you never see anything the off camera sounds give the film the mood it needs to drive the story and give the feeling of fear.Cloverfield simply doesn't have that and it leaves me feeling no compassion for the characters and no sense of danger unless they are in the open and within shouting distance of the monster(s) Simply put this movie is a love or hate experience,there isn't any middle ground.Although it's meant for the big screen I'd advise waiting till it's available for rent to avoid disappointment