Cloverfield: A Cinematic Thrill Ride

The mysterious Cloverfield movie stormed into packed theaters across the country January 18.  The days following proved to be a success not matched by any other January movie in history.  It made a record 41 million over the first two days surpassing the Star Wars re-release in 1997.

Producer of the TV series Lost, J.J. Abrams, was the man behind it all. His saying at the 2007 Comic Con that America needed its own monster, like Japan’s Godzilla, sparked immense internet speculation.  Websites sprung up blogging about the movie and producing theories as to what the monster would be. Viral marketing started up with the characters’ myspace pages and company websites were created to give back-story on the monster and how it came to be.

All of that speculation and hype finally came to an end Friday when people around the country sat down in their seats to enjoy the show.

It did not disappoint.

The presentation of the movie is of raw footage from a videotape found by the military after a monster attack on New York City, played back by the Department of Defense.  People should keep this in mind and not expect a neatly wrapped up ending or thorough exposition in the beginning.

It follows six people in their mid-twenties.  The main character, Rob, is taking a job in Japan and the others are throwing a going away party for him.  About halfway through the party, they hear a roar and feel the ground shaking.  Confused, the characters take to the roof to see what is going on, only to see an explosion in the distance.  Going back down to street level, the Statue of Liberty’s head is thrown at a skyscraper and lands right in front of them.  Chaos ensues.

The movie is shot from the perspective of one of the characters with a handheld camera.  Many people complained about the shakiness of the camera and reports of people vomiting due to motion sickness have come up.  The basis of comparison for this aspect is the movie The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield has a lot more shakiness to the camera.

Cloverfield makes you feel like you are there, in New York City, while this ‘thing’ is attacking the city.  The home video style and the acting, which in my mind was superb by these no-name actors, helps add reality and authenticity to it.

I really don’t want to spoil much else other than the main plot so I will stop there.  Just keep in mind that the movie is raw footage found after the ‘accident’ so don’t expect a lengthy explanation, introduction, or nice ending.  I can’t emphasize that enough.  I think a lot of people will enjoy it.  It is certainly a one-of-a-kind type movie and a must-see in theaters.

Grade:  A+