It is no wonder that for sci-fi and horror fans alike, this movie has become a sensation. A new benchmark of sorts, Cloverfield demands to be viewed on the biggest screen available.
Direction -
Perfect
5.0
Matt Reeves and JJ Abrams (he of Lost) deserve huge acclaim for this movie. In the end it is a very simple story, told through a very personal lens, yet blown up to Godzilla like proportions.
Dialogue -
Great
4.0
The dialogue perfectly captures the callow self-centeredness of the "Bright Lights, Big City" singles through whose lives we experience the attack. Especially in the pre-attack party scenes, no interchange was without self-serving subtext: everybody - especially the guys - was on the make, always trying to curry advantage with one another. This extended introduction to the main characters worked exceedingly well to stoke our curiosity about how they would handle the impending disaster.
Then after things got really weird - i.e., the monster attacked - the story and dialogue ably moved our goofball heroes closer to the action, using their youthful foolishness and romanticism to great effect.
Music -
Perfect
5.0
While there is no theme or mood music, there is no shortage of songs played at the party.
Visuals -
Perfect
5.0
While I didn't think the main monster was especially fresh, it was more than sufficiently realistic, and its ravaging of NYC was a POV sight to behold.
