Never before has a big-budget Hollywood production spent so much time, money and effort to make a movie that looks this shitty. Because I gotta warn you. If you are prone to motion sickness *at all,* be careful with Cloverfield. I knew I'd have trouble, I took anti-nausea medication before I went and I still got queasy. If I hadn't taken precautions, I'd have spewed a Subway Club on wheat (no cheese) all over the first four rows.
You have been warned.
Now, once you get over the vomit factor, Cloverfield is a nifty idea. It's not a big monster flick. It's got a big monster, and its pretty danged cool, but the movie's not about that.
It's more like a zombie survival flick, as it follows a small group of people very closely. So the premise really is "what would some normal people do in an incredibly not-normal situation?"
It also is very indicative of the modern YouTube generation. Nothing is real until it's recorded, analyzed, narrated and loaded onto a Web browser. Of course, writing these words on a blog, I feel kinda dumb. Not as dumb as the people who stopped to whip out their cell cams instead of RUNNING FROM THE GIANT SMASHY MONSTER, but I realize that I'm part of the problem. :)
The party takes up a full quarter of a relatively short movie, but it works, because it gives us a good idea of who all these people are without a lot of exposition nonsense. Then it's time for monster smackdown, baby!
We never learn that much about the critter, except that it's huge, presumably aquatic, incredibly cranky, and damn near invulnerable. It's also got skittery little monsters that fall off it like dandruff, because you've gotta have that Aliens factor in monster movies these days.
So very cool, rocket-paced action (do not get the large soda, 'cause potty breaks are a bad idea) that is a good start for the 2008 movie season.
What I want to see now is the sequel that explains what in pie was going on.
It's still alive.
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