Customer Reviews
A 5 star movie with 3 star extras. - By: i wrote this, 06 Aug 2008 
Like the Matrix 10 years ago Cloverfield has set a new standard for action cinema. Movie snobs often dismiss genre movies like this one as low brow. But the genius of Cloverfield is it's structure; the whole movie is an exercisein keeping an audience on the edge of their seats & it works. Every time it looks like things couldn't possibly get worse they do, then just when things look like they've calmed down a tad the next shock hits. None of which sounds that impressive, until you see just how well it's done here.
Although there's nothing oscar worthy from the cast the films is buoyed along by some convincing performances & humorin particular is played just right: it's funny but not so funny that you relax. The story pulls surprisingly few punches & even seems a little daring for a big budget action movie, culminatingin a conclusion that stayed with me long after the movie finished; it's often I've said that about a film of this type. Best of all there is more to Cloverfield then just digital effects & screaming. The main characters find themselves caught between an apparently unstoppable natural force & a military or authoritarian presence that is potentially just as deadly (it's not clear which is responsible for the climatic scene under the bridge). As such the story is a fitting parable for the modern mindset of the average personin the west at this timein history: little people caught between corporate hunger, rising & falling political empires, wars they don't understand, apparently uncatchable enemies who wage warin urban areas & of course the environmental holocaust Hollywood has worked so hard to prophecy. The end result reminded me of the sense of powerless desperation that came from watching 'An Inconvenient Truth' for the first time.
On a technical level every thing looks spot on & the sound mix is one of the best I have ever experienced on domestic speakers, making this the perfect film to show off your new home cinema system.
Unfortunately the special features for this 2 disc edition aren't that special. The deleted scenes & alternate endings run to about 5 minutes tops & really disappoint. The making of features are typical: the cast come over as like-able but most of the time is spent on extremely dull digital effects people. There are only so many ways of saying "We did it with computers. It was complicated.". There's certainly nothing extra here that makes it worth buying this over the single disc edition.
Walk through the fields of clover or should you run? - By: Nico, 20 Jul 2008 
I had not heard that much about Cloverfield when I first saw a trailer on the internet, but it did look good. The idea of narrating a story through the lens of a camera had been seen before, but the idea of making a disaster movie this way still appealed to me, so I was not expecting much, but still hoped to get that wow effect which is very muchin demand these days.
The movie & the ideas behind it really had potential & succeeds at some points to capture & engage the audience because one feels like beingin the middle of the crisis. Unfortunately some issues relating to physics etc. is able to spoil the movie if one thinks very logically. The movie has for instance been critizised for lacking realistic physics relating to the cameraman. A point which can also be seen as a let down for the audience & more or less destroying the reality factor, is the quality of the video, which is quite good. This is of course to make the movie as goodin quality as any other cinematic movies, but some might still think that this is a flaw & makes the movie lose a bit of its supposed atmosphere. At points the animation of the monsters look a bit misplaced & it is clear that they are animated creatures. It is hard to critizise this because the perception of the human is much harder to convincein this age of technology than ever before, so it is difficult to make animated characters that look genuine, especially the fictional ones. There is no musical score, obviously, but the sound effects are very good & when you sitin the cinema while gun bullets hiss & military tanks works it way through the streets, the sound really makes it all come to life. Again the sound isin a bit of an over quality state for a normal handycam, but it does not spoil the film too much. The acting part is sufficable, but not the best. They are able to make the movie experience endurable, but again, they do not add up to the wow factor that they could have.
To sum up Cloverfield is a justifiable movie & easy to watch as the story is not that complex. It also tries to show the audience the innermost urges & instincts that follow with trying to survive & it both delivers & fails at doing so. The idea of narrating the story through the lens of a camera has got some real potential, but the top of the peak has not yet been reached. It is all a matter of time before a big breakthrough is made & meanwhile one must just wait & see. See through the lens of progression.
Less Is More - By: Steven Stewart, 17 Jun 2008 
We all know of the hype that surrounded this film & that was even before we even knew the name of the film, once we found out the name we became more pre-occupied with the Monster but we never really got to see the monster up close & personal. Even when the movie was released we're never really given a clear shot of the monster itself leaving more to the imagination, which I think makes it all the more special. The story tells of Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) who's about to leave New York city to start a new lifein Japan, during his goodbye party he has an argument with his girlfriend, Beth (Odette Yustman) & she leaves while he has to attend the party with other things on his mind. By about this time the cameraman for the movie is Hud. (T.J. Miller) As the night progresses the party is shaken by an almighty roar for which they suspect may be an earthquake but after a news report we come to learn it's something so much more frightening.
There have been many complaints about the concept of the movie being Blair Witch-esque & being shot entirely by a handheld camera, but let me be honest when I say that it makes it all the more realistic & even more frightening. This is definitely a monster movie on the scale of the 1998 Godzilla but with one huge difference... OK maybe two & they are, we know nothing about the monster or where it comes from & we don't really come to know what it looks like. This is definitely big budget & the first scenein which the monster first attacks the city gives us the frightening vibe of the 9/11 attacks & the hysteria that the people felt at that time.
If the initial attack & the monster itself wasn't enough to scare the life out of you, then the little creatures that fall off the monster are seriously something to make you wet your pants with fright. They have the cringe factor of a very large spider, they're fast, they're crazy & if they bite you, you explode. We're never given any explanation about what's going on with the monster or the little creatures, we never find out why the people explode & indeed whether somethingin the Alien movie fashion jumps out. The lack of information we're given is really something that makes the whole film special as the less you know, the more your mind starts to play tricks & the more you start to think "well maybe this is what happens, or maybe that's it" you just don't know & that's what makes it an incredible film going experience.
This is something that you really should try, don't be put off by the wimpy claims of motion sickness or the pathetic ramblings of not being able to see much & the camera always swerving away from the best bit, as that's the point. It's more a movie for your imagination & let me tell you your mind really does play tricks. There is a sequel on the way & we have no idea how this is going to turn out, whether this will be a typical movie sequel or whether this will be another video camera movie from another point of view. The soldiers had cameras on their helmets so it's possible that the sequel may be from a soldiers point of view, I know I can't wait for the sequel but if you have yet to see the first movie, you really should try it out.
Utterly outstanding- an instant classic - By: D. Jackson, 15 Jun 2008 Cloverfield is quite terrifying. I've never seen so many people run screaming out of the cinema before.
There's been The Last Broadcast, The Blair Witch Project, The Zombie Diaries, Welcome To The Jungle, Rec, & Diary Of The Dead. Therefore, you'd expect the 'supposedly real, found video camera footage' genre to be a bit worn out by now; but then along comes Cloverfield- the best of them all.
Many have criticized it for having no proper plot (enormous monster attacks New York- hmm, sounds complicated) & having bad characterization & whatever else- but those people have probably totally missed the point. Cloverfield wants you to feel like you're actually experiencing what you see on the screen, to have those feelings of immense confusion, fright & disorientation... & that's exactly what it does.
The Blair Witch Project finally has competitionin its genre. Endless other additions have attempted to surpass it through use of zombies, cannibals, ghosts, you name it- but the reason why they've all failed is because the acting was not convincing enough (especially throughout the excruciatingly bad The Zombie Diaries), & acting is basically the key to make these films work. This is where Cloverfield excels; forget the stunning special effects, the cast are who I praise for most of Cloverfield's incredible success.
(Just a quick word of warning: don't -as I did- get the 2 disc edition hoping that the alternate endings will be totally alternate! That's all I'm saying.)
At the end of the day, be assured that if you look up the word 'amazing'in the dictionary, you'll find the word 'cloverfield'. It's head & shoulders above 99% of other recent horror movies, covering up its massive flaws with (as another reviewer has described as...) "plain spectacular awesomeness".
This really is just what cinema is all about. So believe the hype: Cloverfield rules.
Blair Witch meets Godzilla on steroids... - By: Mr. A. J. Quaeck, 13 Jun 2008 There have been stories surrounding this since it's release onto the big screen several months ago. Viewers fleeing the cinema feeling ill with headaches & nausea due to the bumpy/messy style of filmingin this wicked flick.
True or not, I DON'T GET IT. Ok, it's a bit like being on a boatin a couple of scenes & it's very amatuerishin others... But people... IT'S SUPPOSSSSSEEEEDDDDD TO BEEEEEEEEE!!! Plus it adds to the charmin my opinion.
Fantastic performances all round. And a big round of applause for the director... Think jaws.. How much of the shark do you actually get to see... & how afraid were you the first time you watched it?
Buy THIS NOW!
