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Rating of
2/4
Not Worth The Hype, But Worth a Look
Unknown - wrote on 01/22/2016
Normally, I wouldn't pass up a movie such as this. I skipped the theater experience because of the overhype marketing machine of mysteriously vague trailers that promised something that many of my friends said it didn't deliver on. After many years of forgetting this film entirely, I've finally seen it. And I have to say that while it wasn't worth the hype, it was certainly not in any way a bad movie and it still delivered on what it set out to do. The marketing never steered us in a certain direction. It only teased us with the unknown. This was never meant to be a crazy 'Godzilla' type of monster film. It's intent was to inject something new into the 'found-footage' genre through the use of a giant creature wrecking havoc in New York City. As far as the filming format is …
Rating of
2/4
"Cloverfield" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 04/05/2012
Cinema is an artform. One based on commercial success, yes, but an artform nonetheless. Therefore good films tell a story; they have structure, plot, character development and dialogue. It is not enough to just point a camera at something and wait for it to unfold, which is exactly what Cloverfield is like. Basically it's The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla as we follow a group of friends as they try to escape Manhattan during a monster attack. I have to say some of the action sequences are brilliantly done, seamlessly combining impressive CGI with the first person camera work. But I didn't care what happened. I wasn't bored exactly, but it was just a series of images of disaster-stricken cityscapes with people running around in the foreground. And that's it. No plot, no interesting …
Rating of
0.5/4
Not pleased.
rblazina - wrote on 02/26/2011
Here are my thoughts on the movie from when I saw it in theatres, I found this on my old blog:
The only reason I wanted to see this movie is to see it before the novelty of it wore off. I wasn't expecting much from it going in, and going out I came out with less. It is one of the worst movies I've seen. I'll try to do this review without giving the plot away since it is a new movie and most probably haven't seen it though I don't recommend it.
First of all, is this movie supposed to be a monster movie or a character-driven romance story? The characters aren't developed but they are focused on more then the monster which is what I thought the movie was supposed to be about.
The idea of the hand-held camera is not original (see: Blair Witch Project). I know what they were trying …
Rating of
3.5/4
Watch out for the crab/bat Monster!!
MovieGuy878 - wrote on 05/14/2009
"Cloverfield" had one of the most genius marketing techniques ive probably have ever seen. The infamous and mysterious teaser trailer was talked about everywhere, even national news stations. The big mystery ends up being a movie about a monster who reaks havoc in New York City. But this monster movie has a extremely clever and perfect twist on a monster movie because its shot from the perspective of someone with a camcorder. It's like Godzilla meets The Blair Witch Project. Even though this style works, i feel its not that liked too much and being worn out. The results make up for one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences all year."Cloverfield" is really intense and keeps you on the edge of your seat from begining to end. Yes, most of characters arent the most likeable and the …
Rating of
3/4
Doesn't outstay its welcome
goodfellamike - wrote on 10/26/2008
It's not Godzilla, because there's little humor to be found (unintentional or not) and Puff Daddy isn't on the soundtrack; it's also not The Blair Witch Project, because we actually get to see the monster. However, similarities to both movies are entirely evident throughout the film, and inevitable in just about any review discussing the content of Cloverfield.
The story couldn't be simpler: It's about a monster attack on New York City from a hand-held camera's point of view by a small group of young adults who find themselves fleeing a going-away party to fend for their lives. About thirty minutes into the film, we realize just how uncertain the fates of any of the characters are. Luckily, when someone holding the camera gets taken out, another is willing to resume filming for the …
Rating of
2/4
Who Knew That This Was Going to be a Letdown.
LeopardExplosion - wrote on 06/15/2008
Well, An interesting concept for a movie. The camera work, which everyone would say is, well, different. This movie is mixed. Lots of people love it, and some just didn't like it. And then there's me stuck in the middle. Here's the problem.
The camera work made this movie much obnoxious, too much for me to handle, and too much to even enjoy the film. I was suffering from motion sickness just about halfway through the film. Even during a party, that camera man can't keep the camcorder still for a split-second.
Not much going on with the rest of New York City. It was all about the fivve new yorkers, roaming the subways in order to survive. The Monster had barely been revealed, which flat out pissed everyone off including me. It didn't make sense that a monster even appeared in New …
Rating of
3.5/4
Tight, Intense Film
randwood12 - wrote on 06/14/2008
In the face of enormous hype, Cloverfield is an experience, and one of the most intense films I have ever seen. Matt Reeves keeps the action going during a slim 84 minutes, the special effects are top notch, and the monster is quite frightening. Many have complained about the first person camera angle and the lack of a true ending, but this is all part of making the film as realistic as possible, as if this could happen to anyone. The film is interesting in that it is a monster film which is not overly concerned with the monster: the viewer is only treated to a few quick shots of the creature (as one would expect from watching J.J. Abrams' "Lost"). Instead, the film is an exploration of how the characters react to an unexpected situation, how their true character is revealed through …
Rating of
4/4
Amazing
chiggles - wrote on 05/31/2008
Cloverfield follows five New Yorkers from the perspective of a hand-held video camera. The movie is exactly the length of a DV Tape and a sub-plot is established by showing bits and pieces of video previously recorded on the tape that is being recorded over. The movie starts as a monster of unknown origin destroys a building. As they go to investigate, parts of the building and the head of the Statue of Liberty come raining down. The movie follows their adventure trying to escape and save a friend, a love interest of the main character.
Cloverfield is one of the biggest mysteries to ever hit theatres. Before theatrical release, nobody knew anything about the movie. The big things we knew was that it dealt with a very large creature of some sort in New York City, and also the fact that …
Rating of
3/4
The Best Marketing Campaign Ever!
Tino - wrote on 05/22/2008
Good fun movie. The 'blair witch' camera style is an effective way to directly follow the few cast members, who are trying to survive and find their friend in the terrorized streets of Manhattan. The movie can be genuinely frightening, if you're not burnt out on the handheld shaky camera deal. The movie is straightforward and doesn't pull any remorseful speeches with any hidden meanings, which is very refreshing. This film definitely helps revitalize the genre, emphasizing little camera time for the actual monster (which is very satisfying), and focusing on better quality fright, over the quantity of cheap jumper and gore scares in most horror films today. But the best part, was the marketing. It made you have to see the monster, and figure out what it was once and for all. As far as the …
Rating of
2/4
Once is enough.
FZero - wrote on 05/11/2008
Ok, full disclosure, this is being written after watching it a second time, in which a lot of the luster is lost and just the flaws remain and are thrust into the foreground. It was a mistake on my part to watch it again. The original rating was 3/4 now reduced. With all of the mystery and anticipation of seeing the monster gone all you are left with is stupid one dimensional protagonists, inane dialog and what feels like a longer movie than the actual runtime. The opening party is especially painful and overdrawn in attempts to establish characters that can only be described as cardboard cutouts. Some of the positives still remain, from top notch special effects of the destruction of New York to one cool looking monster which we don't see enough of and that point is painfully …
