‘Cloverfield’ Review
C
Since the opening screenings of ‘Transformers,’ all the hype has been building up over this upcoming monster movie, about a creature the size of a skyscraper that can’t be revealed. Director J.J. Abrams (Alias) may have made a wise choice when he decided to keep his “monster” project behind curtains until release, but if my own experience is any indication, the only thing he’ll get in return is a handful of people looking for ticket refunds; if not because they didn’t like the film, it’ll certainly be because they need to go buy some aspirin afterwards. The look of reality can be slightly appealing to ‘Blair Witch’ fans, but with buildings crumbling to dust at every turn, and people constantly screaming in fear, ‘Cloverfield’ guarantees nothing but a monster headache upon the conclusion.
Abrams’ adventure documentary opens with a short prologue from the U.S. Government that will easily get your attention as it explains the finding of the following footage in “what used to be” Central Park. From the prologue on, we follow a young group of college students throwing a party for one of their friends. The fun, however, is very short lived as New York City becomes the victim of an unknown and unseen creature with destructive power by the footstep, and these youngsters’ home video quickly becomes a documented race for survival.
I can only assume that J.J. Abrams wanted to do something very unique for a monster movie, and since most of the creature ideas out there had already been addressed, he next turned to making a unique style. I credit him for making something that seems rarely believable with passable visual effects, and a short timeframe (90 min.), but if you ask me, ‘Godzilla’ certainly could’ve used a better polishing than the one it got several years ago. I completely understand why Abrams may have feared competing with ‘King Kong’ and ‘ID4,’ but if you’re going to build up a fan base that craves the mystery behind the show, at least make the experience more enjoyable, and less enduring.
It’ll be interesting (for me) to see how many professional critics, in the near future, battle it out in court over who wrote the phrase “Blair Witch meets Godzilla” first (especially when it comes down to whose name winds up on the DVD box), but however many times you read it, it is never a bad lead in for audiences considering this one. ‘Blair Witch’ built its cult following on a horror movie atmosphere with a reality based product, and ‘Godzilla’ (along with all the other monster movies) lives on as either the best, or corniest, adventure flick of all time. ‘Cloverfield’ won’t waste your time, and it won’t ruin your hope in upcoming movies for 2008, but it will definitely throw you off balance for a while afterwards, and nag you with a few “what ifs;” like what if they had just used a larger budget and made this something bigger… something truly monstrous?
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Jan 18 2008. Filed under Features.
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