Startles and thrills.

Rating: 7/10 (28 February 2009)

In Manhattan a party of well-wishers are ready to say goodbye to Rob who is departing to Japan after a successful promotion. That very evening a monstrosity is awoken from the ocean-depths who causes death and destruction in its wake. These events are all captured on film as those who survive seek to remain alive.
Cloverfield has obvious parallels to 'Godzilla'. However, what makes Cloverfield rather startling is its contemporary resonance with the terror attacks of this century. As one would of surmised, the whole film is through the lens of a camcorder, which is a clever device to really convey the fear of the unknown to the audience and indeed those actually their. This has an obvious implausibility in that it is unrealistic that any person would willingly hold a camcorder throughout the ordeal but if you can forget this, its rather thrilling.
The special effects are of the highest quality and the acting is really well-delivered. The running time is perfect, and it never lags. There are a few highly unlikely events, which are rather frustrating, and unfortunately bring my vote down. I can however appreciate that these events have an almost inevitable inclusion in the film to keep it flowing.
Cloverfield is a good watch with thrills and high entertainment value, certainly worth the time to watch.