A very good movie, portrays disaster very well

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2008)

I thought this movie was really good for a number of reasons. First off, the main point of this movie was really to redeem the '90's debacle, "Godzilla...", which may very well have been the worst movie in history. Cloverfield does that well. It's the same story, a giant monster terrorizes Manhattan, destroying everything in its path. It is a little different of course. Instead of laying eggs, this monster is covered with venomous fleas, that if bite you, cause you to explode; and the monster itself is a lot cooler and designed better and that adds to the intensity and fear.
The entire movie is from the perspective of a few people through a video camera. So there is no music or traditional cinematography. However, that is the best part about the movie. It adds a lot of intensity and makes everything more personal and realistic. So if the mood of the characters changes, so will yours, in a more appealing way without the addition of sad or happy music, or descriptive montages. It really makes you feel like your in the same situation as the people.
This movie has some very clear references to the 9/11 attacks. If you've seen as many 9/11 documentaries or video clips as I have, you will easily notice some scenes that were taken directly from those clips, and adapted to the movie. For example, a very well known scene form 9/11, when a bunch of people were hiding in a store while the streets filled with smoke, or the smoke billowing between the buildings and "chasing" the people as they try to outrun it.
The acting in the movie is very good. The people act just as you would expect them to in a life threatening situation. You never get the feeling that they have rehearsed anything they said. It is played all very naturally and very casually. As if it isn't a movie at all, but as if it is actually happening. A lot of the dialogue seems improvised , which is very good in a movie such as this because you want it to feel as if the characters are actually experiencing what you see on the screen for the first time. This again adds intensity to the movie when you personalize more with the characters and what and how they feel.
Although I am sure the writers' and directors' main goal was to make a really good scfi movie filled with cool creepy action, which they succeeded in doing, and making a few symbolic and literal references to 9/11, they were able to achieve a lot more thanks to the acting and cinematography.
This is a really good and cool movie, and should be watched at least once.