Cloverfield

Viewed: Theater

When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I thought it could be awesome or it could be awful. I purposefully avoided Web sites with speculations about the monster, but I still saw a few ideas — Godzilla and Cthulhu were mentioned by name. I also saw mention that this monster would be something completely new. Other than those monster guesses, I knew nothing about this movie other than what I saw in the trailer. But I watched the trailer probably a dozen times.

What really got my attention the most in the trailer, and made me hopeful, was the idea that the movie might not actually show the monster in full. Imagination is much more terrifying and exciting than any CGI could be. I watched the trailer probably a dozen times, and I had high hopes for this movie — I foolishly set myself up for disappointment. But I am happy to say I was not disappointed at all. It’s a great movie.

It’s less than an hour and a half, but it doesn’t feel short. I didn’t time it, but I’d guess the setting and character introduction is about 15 minutes. And then, without foreshadowing or warning, it starts happening. I was pleasantly surprised that the first roar and rumble didn’t occur as shown in the trailer — it really surprises you. Although, the monster’s roar sounded much better in the trailer — the trailer roar should have been kept.

The characters are well developed, the relationships (including the driving love story) are well established, and the acting is quite good. It’s hard to talk about this movie without giving away parts that should stay unknown to the viewer until they happen.

As for the monster, at first the characters (and the audience) only get glimpses of “something.” As the movie progresses, you see a little more, until probably two-thirds into it when you get a good full view of it. But the full views are quick. I really wanted the movie to not show the whole creature at all, because, like I said, imagination is more powerful than CGI. The creature is never explained in any way.

The entire movie is a recording taped on a handheld camera by a total amateur. This means there are lots of “shaky cam” moments, and moments of nothing but ground or darkness when the characters are fleeing from danger or running to safety. This will annoy some, but it is to be expected from the basic premise that the whole movie is taken from a recovered personal camera. (Recovered from the area “formerly known as Central Park.”)

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but there were a couple of moments very near the end that strained my willing suspension of disbelief. I want to, and will try to see it again.

There’s a very brief piece of audio after the credits, but it’s an unintelligible radio transmission. It’s truly unintelligible (by intentional design), so it’s not worth waiting to hear. When I heard it, I thought I just didn’t hear it well enough to understand, but I’ve since read about it on the Web, and it requires technology to unscramble, not just personal attention. Don’t wait for it; look it up online — after seeing the movie.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com