For some time now, I had been interested, though perhaps not quite "eager," to see the movie Cloverfield. Produced by J.J. Abrams, directed by his creative partner Matt Reeves, and written by Buffy/Alias/Lost writer Drew Goddard, it seemed like it had a good pedigree.As word from preview screenings began trickling out in recent weeks, I think I started to let myself expect a little more. Word was this was really good. But ultimately, I fought against the considerable hype and went to the theater planning on having a good time. Not necessarily to be blown away.
That turned out to be about the right level of anticipation. Cloverfield is pretty good for a "monster movie." It manages to build a small cast of characters you actually care a little for; they're not just meat for the slaughter. It has some pretty cool sequences, some surprising, some tense. It moves along at a fast clip, never leaving you bored. And yet, the things it does "pretty well" have been done better in other films.
Much of this movie's tone echoed that of the recent, excellent movie The Mist. The treatment of the creatures was similar in both -- rarely seen in full, not as one-dimensional as originally assumed to be. You become more invested in that movie's characters, too.
The "real home video footage" conceit of the film, though realized quite well here, seemed to work better to me in The Blair Witch Project. Perhaps it was just that the other film's premise and scope were so simple that you could let yourself believe it could be real, if you wanted to. Here, though the filmmakers did an impressive job in staying true to their gimmick, the scale of the situation (and of the visual effects you do occasionally see) perhaps keeps you from ever completely surrendering your disbelief.
Nevertheless, it is a fun ride, and a far more effective "giant monster attacks" movie that we've had in other recent efforts than I can think of. (Peter Jackson's surprisingly boring King Kong springs to mind.) Go with your expectations set appropriately, and I think you'll have a good time. I give it a B-.
3 comments:
Didn't you want to yell at Hud? "Pick up the camera! All I see is feet!" I know he said he was no expert, but gosh.
I liked it more than I thought I would. I was pretty apprehensive about the video cam style, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.
I really liked that it was more of a survival movie than a monster movie.
Hudson. Hud? Heads Up Display? a little too blatantly "clever" of a reference that they kept saying all throughout the movie.
this was right on the borderline of my tolerance for shaky-camera movements. but it was on the okay side for most of the film. (some of the "running in terror" crossed the line, but it was understandable I guess...)
(spoiler alert) I liked the movie but I felt the beginning of the movie completely spoiled the ending of the movie. the opening text said the recording was recovered from former central park. "recovered" meaning whoever was carrying it was killed. I would have liked the ending better if they would have just ran away from HUD's munching and we would wonder if they escaped. as soon as they picked up the camera I knew they weren't going to make it either...
the mole
Post a Comment