WARNING!!!! (SMALL SPOILERS AHEAD)
So....was it worth it? After the nameless trailer, the Slusho commercials (don't ask) and all that J.J Abrammy hype; was there an actual movie worth seeing attached to all the bells and whistles? Simply put...Hells Yeah!!! But its a bit more complicated than that. Though some were expecting Cloverfield to change the face of cinema the end product turns out to be deceptively simple. Turns out the previews didn't lie. For all intents and purposes "Cloverfield" is nothing more then Godzilla vs. The Blair Witch Project. It's an old school giant monster movie done with a hand-held camera. Disappointed much? You have a right to be, but don't take it out on the film itself - instead blame the people behind the revolutionary PR campaign for creating, at least in your imagination, a film so bombastic that it had no chance of meeting our expectations. So yes, the movie wont blow your mind, but it might just rock your world.
There's an amazingly accomplished film under all this hype. Director Matt Reeves (The Pallbearer) gives some much needed finesse to the hand-held camera genre, while also managing to give the film a real heart. I won't go into the plot except to say that it begins at a party with a some guy taping the event and before you can say "Mothera" the entirety of New York City is being destroyed and all it's citizens are running amuck. To give away much more would be a crime, but suffice it to say it's one hell of a viseral experience. This is not "edge of your seat"- this is "smush yourself as far back into the seat as possible." The whole idea of a giant monster never really scared me (the smaller the creepier) but watching something tear apart the streets of NYC in a post 9/11 world really started to get to me. No one and no place is safe in this movie and having it shot entirely by a hand-held camera really made me feel like I was right in the middle of all the action.
Some kudos must be given to the actors in the film for taking on such a thankless job. None of them are especially memorable and none of them have any character arc to speak of, and yet this only adds to the terror of the movie. We care about these people, because they are simply people, currently with very fragile lives on the line. We essentially become these characters, even when they make stupid decisions we forgive them, because we identify with them. Their actions aren't heroic, but human. I have to give a shout-out to the cameraman Hud, who gives the audience a nice out from all the action with his wise-ass cracks.
Another nice touch is the inter cutting of previously taped footage (now mostly taped over by the present events) showing a romantic liason between two characters. These scenes help to flesh out the characters while giving meaning to their actions.
As for the monster(s), it's pretty crazy. The scene in the subway in particular had me squirming in delight. Sometimes the creature looks almost like an animal we can identify, but other times looks like nothing we have ever seen before. The best compliment I can give the monster is that I really don't know how to descibe it.
Love this movie for what it is, not what it isn't. "Cloverfield" is a tense well made rollar coaster ride. It's a summer blockbuster movie in January...only better!!! I can't think of a better way to start your movie-going year!
So....was it worth it? After the nameless trailer, the Slusho commercials (don't ask) and all that J.J Abrammy hype; was there an actual movie worth seeing attached to all the bells and whistles? Simply put...Hells Yeah!!! But its a bit more complicated than that. Though some were expecting Cloverfield to change the face of cinema the end product turns out to be deceptively simple. Turns out the previews didn't lie. For all intents and purposes "Cloverfield" is nothing more then Godzilla vs. The Blair Witch Project. It's an old school giant monster movie done with a hand-held camera. Disappointed much? You have a right to be, but don't take it out on the film itself - instead blame the people behind the revolutionary PR campaign for creating, at least in your imagination, a film so bombastic that it had no chance of meeting our expectations. So yes, the movie wont blow your mind, but it might just rock your world.
There's an amazingly accomplished film under all this hype. Director Matt Reeves (The Pallbearer) gives some much needed finesse to the hand-held camera genre, while also managing to give the film a real heart. I won't go into the plot except to say that it begins at a party with a some guy taping the event and before you can say "Mothera" the entirety of New York City is being destroyed and all it's citizens are running amuck. To give away much more would be a crime, but suffice it to say it's one hell of a viseral experience. This is not "edge of your seat"- this is "smush yourself as far back into the seat as possible." The whole idea of a giant monster never really scared me (the smaller the creepier) but watching something tear apart the streets of NYC in a post 9/11 world really started to get to me. No one and no place is safe in this movie and having it shot entirely by a hand-held camera really made me feel like I was right in the middle of all the action.
Some kudos must be given to the actors in the film for taking on such a thankless job. None of them are especially memorable and none of them have any character arc to speak of, and yet this only adds to the terror of the movie. We care about these people, because they are simply people, currently with very fragile lives on the line. We essentially become these characters, even when they make stupid decisions we forgive them, because we identify with them. Their actions aren't heroic, but human. I have to give a shout-out to the cameraman Hud, who gives the audience a nice out from all the action with his wise-ass cracks.
Another nice touch is the inter cutting of previously taped footage (now mostly taped over by the present events) showing a romantic liason between two characters. These scenes help to flesh out the characters while giving meaning to their actions.
As for the monster(s), it's pretty crazy. The scene in the subway in particular had me squirming in delight. Sometimes the creature looks almost like an animal we can identify, but other times looks like nothing we have ever seen before. The best compliment I can give the monster is that I really don't know how to descibe it.
Love this movie for what it is, not what it isn't. "Cloverfield" is a tense well made rollar coaster ride. It's a summer blockbuster movie in January...only better!!! I can't think of a better way to start your movie-going year!
No comments:
Post a Comment