Review by CJ

Director:
Matt Reeves

Starring:
Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas, Mike Vogel, T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, Odette Annable

Other notable appearances:
Ryan Key

Running time:
85 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
Blair Witch

The footage left behind by a group of friends trying to save another friend during a monster’s attack on New York City.

Okay, let’s get this out of the way. I don’t like found footage style films as a general rule. I think they’re cheap and allow filmmakers to get away with sloppy direction, dialogue and plot. I only watched Cloverfield because I really liked 10 Cloverfield Lane and wanted some context.

In saying that, as far as found footage films go, Cloverfield is the best I have seen.

The film still suffers from terrible dialogue — there are only so many times I can listen to characters incessantly screaming one another’s names — and the resultant poor character development, but the plot is engaging, the characters aren’t actively unlikeable and the main actors all do a decent job.

Cloverfield certainly isn’t going to convince me that found footage films are a blight on cinema, but if you must watch one then this is the best of a bad lot. Be warned though that if you go into it, like I did, thinking it will clarify anything in 10 Cloverfield Lane, you’ll be disappointed.

Rating:

“Okay, just to be clear here, our options are: die here, die in the tunnels, or die in the streets. That pretty much it?”