DIGEST MOVIE REVIEW

As film classic “Godzilla” was the definitive monster movie for post WWII Japan and to a certain extent America, “Cloverfield” is the same for our post 9/11 generation.
Starring a full cast of relatively unknowns and having the story told through the prospective of a hand held video camera about a going-away party gone array when a monster sudden appears out of nowhere and rampages its way through New York City.
From the random footage of past events recorded over the monster attacks to the nauseating shaky camera a la “The Blair Witch Project”, everything in this movie feels real and believable.
When the monster starts attacking the city, the destructions that takes place during the course of the movie will invoke a strong since of the events of 9/11 due to the characters are living and partying on a smilingly normal night when their lives as well as the nation is changed by an outside force with the video camera showing their small prospective of a bigger event.
What makes this plot work as a monster movie is the less is more approach of actually seeing the monster throughout the movie like Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” though you get a decent look at it fully by the end.
Also, there is not a drawn out story line on the monster and that the characters are just as clueless as we are about what is going on allows a great level of emotional connection to everything happening on screen.
Like mentioned before, the cast of relatively unknowns work toward the films advantage with standouts being T.J. Miller playing the character of Hud, who films the event while making humorous observations to lighten the mood and Michael Stahl-David as Rob who is reacting to the on going chaos with a human realism rarely seen in a movie of this genre.
The fact is until its eventual sequel, there is no doubt that internet geeks and bloggers will view this movie multiple times looking for many references and clues on everything that’s taking place shows how complexity not seen since the “Matrix” trilogy.
“Cloverfield” in all is more than “Godzilla” meets “The Blair Witch Project” but a monster movie that is smart yet big on huge set pieces.