The Three Potatoes

9th July 2008
Cloverfield (2008)

Rob is heading off to Japan for a new job opportunity and his friends are throwing him a surprise farewell party. The whole occasion is filmed by best friend Hud who is capturing well wishers as well as behind the scenes dramas of the party. Sometime through the night the whole city is rocked by a black out and suddenly chaos erupts - Manhattan is under attack by an unknown creature. Death, destruction, mayhem. Cue screaming, crying, running people through smoke filled streets. We follow the main characters scrambling through the city as recorded by handycam.

The storytelling is creative and runs the romantic thread through the rest of the action thriller story. I loved the camera recording being intercut with the old material on the tape in order to add sensitive relationship depth and drama. The realism of the action is one of attractions. Howere one of the problems if the monster is seen too often. It would be far more effective if it was much more elusive, mysterious and we didn't see it at all - only the evidence of it's destruction and mayhem. As a homage to Godzilla the obviousness of the creature didn't really mesh with the mood of the movie. The smaller creatures were more foreign and exciting, but it could have be amped up so much more. Apparently the creature is a euphemism for September 11, as Godzilla was about the Atom Bomb, and while I appreciate the effort, the execution could have been a bit smoother.

Drew Goddard, once a young Buffy fan, is revered among cult fandom since writing the best scripts from Buffy season 7 full of series continuity points and humour. His work extended into Angel and then Lost (which was where the series picked up again) so I was really looking forward to seeing Cloverfield. While I found it a good, watchable movie, it is not the spectacular blockbuster as per the massive advertising campaign excited. I blame the marketing of the film. If Cloverfield had been put across as just a regular movie it would be pleasantly exciting and dramatic. But when advertised as a big blockbuster the movie feels far too low key. Overall I found it watchable but no revelation.

You'll like this if: you like succinct storytelling. Apparently people feel ripped off that the movie was so short at 85 minutes but for me it was just right. Who needs a marathon length movie to feel like you have your money's worth. It's more important to know when to wrap it up (hint AI).

You'll probably not like this if: you're looking for pure high octane action.