An interesting approach

Rating: 8/10 (23 February 2008)

**Spoilers, of course, below**
While I would be the first to admit that a great many points in this film were hardly original, I have to say that I have never seen them all used in such a way.
Certainly, if you were looking for the standard Godzilla or King Kong fare, you were disappointed. This film isn't about monsters. It was simply made a lot more interesting by including one. This film could have been made about an earthquake, a nuclear attack; just about any disaster, and most of it could have been done with little change. The points wasn't the monster, the point was what it would be like if you had to be on the run for your survival.
I would guess that this is something relatively new for Americans and Western Europeans to contemplate. Unless you've been in a major earthquake or some such, running for your life on this scale is not something we have ever had to do. Certainly not in an urban setting. In many parts of the world, running from an army, militia, or some such is sadly a part of regular life. That is my take on the film: putting you in a nearly non-stop run-for-your-life scenario in a very real setting (and a very unreal cause).
The first person perspective was great, and extremely important. Too many times, films "take you there", but you aren't there. A lot of people were reminded of "Blair Witch" but I was more reminded of "Private Ryan". This use of hand held video forces the audience to leave the safety of the theater and enter the world of disaster. Has it been done before? Sure. But it has really not been done in this kind of a film before.
In closing, I have to wonder what people were thinking when they claim this somehow reminiscent of 9-11. I didn't see it. Were buildings knocked over? Yes. Were there people running for their life? Yes. But, that is standard in any disaster film. Have we reached the point that filming on any disaster film can't take place in any urban setting because "that's too much like 9-11." I hope not!