Just got back from Cloverfield. A pretty good movie in its own right, exhilarating and thrilling! After all the secrecy, we finally get to see just what knocked the head off the statue of liberty. 
SPOILERS AND 'SPOILING SUMMARIES' BELOW! Even if you don't care about spoilers, I've summarized the whole experience and it could taint your perception or bias you one way or another, so don't go reading if you plan to see it. Highlight to read, and do not look if you haven't seen it yet!:
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Like I said, I enjoyed the movie in and of itself quite a bit. Got a good bit of adrenaline going, and was honestly scared at times. I didn't quite have the same feeling that I did during 'I am Legend' though, which admittedly was a unique experience for a movie. For that one I had an edgy 'I'm being hunted' feeling during the movie and for several hours afterwards. For Cloverfield, the adrenaline wore off after I left the theater, as it usually does.
I honestly liked the movie. It may not have been the best, but one thing that stood out is that I'd never heard a crowd so disappointed after a movie! Usually you hear a little talking, maybe some claps, a general 'pleased' sound. At the end of Cloverfield, imagine you're at a carnival, and you've been waiting in line for the ferris wheel to open for 10 minutes. A carny walks up to the front and puts an 'out of order' sign on it. The sound the crowd would make is exactly what it sounded like as the credits rolled! It was NOT that bad! I was more than entertained, it's worth the money, at least.
So about the monster... Thoughts? Kind of Lovecraftian, kind of swamp-thing meets Half Life 2 Strider. The parasites were an interesting touch, that's one thing giant monsters tend to lack... They may fare well against other big monsters, but the soldiers usually get them in the end. Infantry control is an interesting ability.
He's tough too... Unhurt by hand held weapons and tanks, and B2 bombers only seemed to knock him down. If this guy catches on, I'm sure there will be more movies about him... Wonder how they'll hurt him, or if he's got any other abilities we haven't seen yet.
I was worried the movie would feel Blair Witch-y, but I didn't feel that at all... Well, a little bit when they were walking through the dark subway tunnel, but the rest honestly felt as if you were just watching the hand-held video account of a terrible event, not a regular scripted movie with a shaky camera like Blair Witch.
The only thing that knocked me out of the movie was the fact that the girl had been impaled on a piece of rebar right through her chest and still managed to run faster than cameraman Hud!
Did anyone see any meaningful tie-ins with Lost, like were rumored? I don't watch the show so I'm sure I missed any subtle references. I know Slusho! was mentioned somewhere, but that's just a tip of the hat to the show, not a tie in.
Overall I think it was pretty good, but it's really darn hard to fill Godzilla's shoes. People were expecting 'this will change the face of monster movies' and only got 'action packed monster movie'. I think they were only let down by this fact, not the movie itself. Alot was left open for more movies, of which there could be alot, provided it's a success (there's a ton of godzilla movies!). This was just the Cloverfield monster saying Hi!
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SPOILERS AND 'SPOILING SUMMARIES' BELOW! Even if you don't care about spoilers, I've summarized the whole experience and it could taint your perception or bias you one way or another, so don't go reading if you plan to see it. Highlight to read, and do not look if you haven't seen it yet!:
---
Like I said, I enjoyed the movie in and of itself quite a bit. Got a good bit of adrenaline going, and was honestly scared at times. I didn't quite have the same feeling that I did during 'I am Legend' though, which admittedly was a unique experience for a movie. For that one I had an edgy 'I'm being hunted' feeling during the movie and for several hours afterwards. For Cloverfield, the adrenaline wore off after I left the theater, as it usually does.
I honestly liked the movie. It may not have been the best, but one thing that stood out is that I'd never heard a crowd so disappointed after a movie! Usually you hear a little talking, maybe some claps, a general 'pleased' sound. At the end of Cloverfield, imagine you're at a carnival, and you've been waiting in line for the ferris wheel to open for 10 minutes. A carny walks up to the front and puts an 'out of order' sign on it. The sound the crowd would make is exactly what it sounded like as the credits rolled! It was NOT that bad! I was more than entertained, it's worth the money, at least.
So about the monster... Thoughts? Kind of Lovecraftian, kind of swamp-thing meets Half Life 2 Strider. The parasites were an interesting touch, that's one thing giant monsters tend to lack... They may fare well against other big monsters, but the soldiers usually get them in the end. Infantry control is an interesting ability.
He's tough too... Unhurt by hand held weapons and tanks, and B2 bombers only seemed to knock him down. If this guy catches on, I'm sure there will be more movies about him... Wonder how they'll hurt him, or if he's got any other abilities we haven't seen yet.
I was worried the movie would feel Blair Witch-y, but I didn't feel that at all... Well, a little bit when they were walking through the dark subway tunnel, but the rest honestly felt as if you were just watching the hand-held video account of a terrible event, not a regular scripted movie with a shaky camera like Blair Witch.
The only thing that knocked me out of the movie was the fact that the girl had been impaled on a piece of rebar right through her chest and still managed to run faster than cameraman Hud!
Did anyone see any meaningful tie-ins with Lost, like were rumored? I don't watch the show so I'm sure I missed any subtle references. I know Slusho! was mentioned somewhere, but that's just a tip of the hat to the show, not a tie in.
Overall I think it was pretty good, but it's really darn hard to fill Godzilla's shoes. People were expecting 'this will change the face of monster movies' and only got 'action packed monster movie'. I think they were only let down by this fact, not the movie itself. Alot was left open for more movies, of which there could be alot, provided it's a success (there's a ton of godzilla movies!). This was just the Cloverfield monster saying Hi!
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