Cloverfield for Kids (Very Minor Spoilers)

Rating: 6/10 (14 January 2012)

The first half of this movie is a compelling drama about children investigating strange events in the wake of a tragedy in small town America in the early 80's; the second half is a toothless horror/disaster movie where children save the day through the power of forgiveness. The movie works well when it keeps its focus tightly on the children and their families, and if it had been willing to be a smaller, more personal film, it could have been very good. Unfortunately, it was instead made to be a big budget Hollywood blockbuster. As the scope of the film widens, there's soon too much happening to leave room for the small moments and interpersonal relationships that made the early parts of the film so watchable, and yet, clearly aiming for its PG-13 rating, the action never produces a real sense of peril, which prevents the build-up of suspense that would have been necessary for the latter half of the movie to really work. In the end, there's an attempt to thematically tie together these two halves and make it feel like one cohesive plot, and enjoyment of this movie largely hinges on that final, pivotal scene: if it works for you, you'll likely leave the theater happy. For me, the connection it strains to make is just too big of a stretch, so I left unsatisfied.